Dennis Egan

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Dennis Egan
Dennis Egan
In office
February 13, 1995 – October 3, 2000
Born 1947
Juneau, Alaska
Profession Radio personality

Dennis Egan (born 1947[1]) is a resident of Juneau, Alaska. He served as its mayor from February 13, 1995, to October 3, 2000. Previously, he was a member of the local assembly.[2] He is now a manager of Alaska-Juneau Communications, Inc., which owns the Juneau-area radio stations KINY and KSUP[3]; Egan hosts the program Problem Corner on KINY.[4]

Contents

[edit] Family

Born in Juneau, Dennis is the son of William Allen Egan, who was a legislator of the Alaska Territory and the state's first governor.[5] He lived in Washington, D.C. while his father lobbied for full Alaskan statehood. Dennis, then eleven years old, appeared on I've Got a Secret when Alaska entered the Union in 1959.[1]

[edit] Professions

Egan has held a number of professions in addition to politics. Among other jobs, he served in the National Guard of the United States and assisted the construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System working for Caterpillar Inc..[5]

[edit] Politics

Dennis's first attempt at politics happened in the 1980s, when he ran a primary election bid for a seat in the Alaska House of Representatives; he lost to Bruce Botelho.[5]

On the suggestion of friends, Egan ran for the Assembly of the City and Borough of Juneau in 1989.[5] He won and served nearly two full three-year terms in the Assembly from October 3, 1989, to February of 1995.[2]

Juneau, Alaska, regular election, 1989 (District 1)[6]
Candidate Votes Percentage
Dennis Egan 3990 57.0%
Joe Geldhof 2095 29.9%
Lee Stoops 868 12.4%
Write-in 47 0.7%
Juneau, Alaska, regular election, 1992 (District 1)[7]
Dennis Egan 5193 62.7%
Sandy Harbanuk 3063 37.0%
Write-in 22 0.3%

Egan was deputy mayor[5] of Juneau in 1995. He was appointed mayor when Byron Mallott resigned in order to become executive director of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation; Mallott had believed he could do both jobs, but his plans drew criticism anyway, and he resigned as mayor.[8] Dennis Egan won reelection in 1995 and 1997.[2] The 1997 race was a landslide victory for Egan. His opponent, Cory Mann, was a "newcomer to politics", according to the Juneau Empire, and had not filed for election until October 2, five days before the vote was held.[9]

An effective mayor, Egan helped mediation efforts[5] to end an August 1997 Alaska Native Brotherhood boycott of the 51st Golden North Salmon Derby.[10] Bob Tkacz of the Anchorage Press had an unfavorable view of the Empire's support of the Derby and Egan's efforts to end the boycott.[11] In September of 1997 Egan helped keep 200 United States Forest Service jobs from being moved from Juneau to Ketchikan.[5]

Juneau, Alaska, regular election, 1995 (Mayor)[12]
Candidate Votes Percentage
Dennis Egan 5620 57.53%
Chuck Keen 2123 21.73%
Mark Farmer 1847 18.91%
Write-in 179 1.83%
Juneau, Alaska, regular election, 1997 (Mayor)[13]
Dennis Egan 5432 78.1%
Cory Mann 1392 20.0%
Write-in 129 1.9%

Egan declined to run in 2000.[1] Instead, Sally Smith narrowly defeated Jamie Parsons, who had been mayor from 1990 to 1994[14], by 220 votes.[15]

[edit] Radio

Egan has long been interested in radio. During high school and after broadcast engineer training, he worked at KINY in the 1960s. Since the 1980s, he has hosted Problem Corner, a Juneau-area call-in show.[5] He was the Alaska Broadcasters Association's Broadcaster of the Year in 1990, and selected for the association's Hall of Fame in 2001.[16]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Chandonnet, Fernand (2000-11-19). Mr. Mayor: Dennis Egan reflects on five years at the helm of Alaska's capital city. Juneau Empire. Retrieved on 2008-01-22.
  2. ^ a b c CBJ Assembly members, 1970-present
  3. ^ Plenda, Melanie (2001-12-04). Woman gets 45 days for forging Egan's name. Juneau Empire. Retrieved on 2008-01-22.
  4. ^ Dennis Egan "Problem Corner"
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Brown, Cathy (1997-09-22). Mayor's race: Political heir vs. novice. Juneau Empire. Retrieved on 2008-01-22.
  6. ^ Juneau, Alaska, regular election, 1989 results
  7. ^ Juneau, Alaska, regular election, 1992 results
  8. ^ Germain, David (1996-10-27). Fund Manager Gives Away Cash: Rich or Poor, Alaskans Get Dividends. Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved on 2008-01-22.
  9. ^ Election spending varies for Tuesday candidates. Juneau Empire (1997-10-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-22.
  10. ^ Parmelee, Catherine. More stores, ships as economy diversifies. Juneau Empire. Retrieved on 2008-01-22.
  11. ^ Tkacz, Bob (1997-08-27). Picking Derby Winners: Ad promos and boosterism overshadow "The Voice of the Capital City". Anchorage Press. Retrieved on 2008-01-22.
  12. ^ Juneau, Alaska, regular election, 1995 results
  13. ^ Juneau, Alaska, regular election, 1997 results
  14. ^ Mayors of the City of Juneau: 1970 - Present
  15. ^ Juneau, Alaska, regular election, 2000 results
  16. ^ Alaska Broadcasters Association