Tom Fink | |
|---|---|
 Fink in 1975 | |
| Member of theFederal Retirement Thrift Investment Board | |
| In office 1997–2010 | |
| Mayor of Anchorage | |
| In office July 1, 1987 – July 1, 1994 | |
| Preceded by | Tony Knowles |
| Succeeded by | Rick Mystrom |
| 7thSpeaker of the Alaska House of Representatives | |
| In office 1973–1975 | |
| Preceded by | Gene Guess |
| Succeeded by | Mike Bradner |
| Member of theAlaska House of Representatives | |
| In office 1967–1975 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1928-08-26)August 26, 1928 Peoria, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | June 4, 2021(2021-06-04) (aged 92) Anchorage, Alaska, U.S. |
| Party | Republican |
| Spouse | Pat Fink |
| Children | 11 |
| Education | Bradley University (BS) University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (JD) |
Thomas August Fink (August 26, 1928 – June 4, 2021) was an AmericanRepublican politician fromAlaska. He wasMayor of Anchorage from 1987 to 1994 andSpeaker of the Alaska House of Representatives from 1973 to 1975. He was also a member of theFederal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, serving from 1997 to 2010.[1]
Fink was born inPeoria, Illinois. He received aBachelor of Science fromBradley University in 1950, and aJ.D. from theUniversity of Illinois Law School in 1952. He moved toAnchorage, Alaska in 1952, and worked as alife insurance salesman from 1958 onward. He received his Chartered Life Underwriter certification fromAmerican College in 1963. Fink was in partnership with Don Schroer for 20 years,doing business as The Schroer-Fink Agency. Schroer was also often involved in Fink's various campaigns for office. He died on June 4, 2021, at the age of 92.[2]
Fink was elected to theAlaska House of Representatives in 1966, and becameSpeaker of the House in 1973. In 1975, he resigned in protest of a new law that would have required him to release a list of his insurance clients.[3]
Fink mounted an unsuccessful bid to succeed term-limited RepublicanGovernor of AlaskaJay Hammond in 1982. He ran on a platform promoting the relocation of the state capital fromJuneau toWillow, but was defeated byDemocratBill Sheffield.[4]
In1987, Fink was electedMayor of Anchorage in the wake ofa dramatic drop in the price of oil, which devastated the local economy. During his term in office, he advocated the sale of ATU, the municipal telephone utility.[5] He received national attention for his stance ongay rights when he vetoed a 1993 municipal ordinance that would protect city employees from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.[6] The same year, he called for the cancellation of funding forPomo Afro Homos, a local theater group that included works with homosexual themes in their repertoire.[7] In both cases, he was overridden by theAnchorage Assembly. In1997, after sitting out one term, Fink returned to politics to mount an unsuccessful challenge to incumbent Republican mayorRick Mystrom.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Speaker of the Alaska House of Representatives 1973–1975 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Mayor of Anchorage 1987–1994 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forGovernor of Alaska 1982 | Succeeded by |
| Territorial(1912–59) |  | |
|---|---|---|
| State(since 1959) | ||
| Town/City of Anchorage(1920–75) |  | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Municipality of Anchorage(since 1975) | |||||
| Formerboroughs |
| ||||
Republican Party nominees forGovernor of Alaska | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
