List of mayors of Fairbanks, Alaska Facts for Kids

David Pruhs, the current mayor of Fairbanks, campaigning in 2012. He became mayor on October 24, 2022.

This article tells you about the people who have been the mayor of Fairbanks, Alaska. It also lists the mayors of the Fairbanks North Star Borough. This borough is like a county that includes Fairbanks city and other nearby areas.

Fairbanks is a city in Alaska, USA. It started in 1901. It officially became a town on November 10, 1903. Around 1950, Fairbanks became known as a city. When Alaska became a state in 1959, Fairbanks citizens voted to have "home rule" the next year. This means they can make many of their own local laws.

The Fairbanks North Star Borough was created by Alaska's government in 1963. It officially started on January 1, 1964. This borough includes Fairbanks city and several smaller towns and villages around it. The main office for the borough is in Fairbanks.

Mayors of the City of Fairbanks

Jim Matherly was mayor from 2016 to 2022. This photo shows him campaigning in 2016.

Steve Thompson, who served as mayor from 2001 to 2007.

H. A. Boucher, mayor from 1966 to 1970.

Douglas Preston, mayor from 1954 to 1957.

Maurice Johnson, mayor from 1949 to 1950.

The city mayor was first chosen from the city council members. Later, people voted for the mayor separately for a two-year term. At that time, the mayor was mostly a leader in name only. A city manager ran the daily government. In 1992, the mayor's job changed. The mayor became the main leader of the city government. The term of office also changed to three years.

Nr.	Name	Term start	Term end
1	E. T. Barnette	1903	1906
2	B.D. Mills	1906	1907
3	J. Barrack	1907	1908
4	Fred Carter	1908	1909
5	Joseph Smith	1909	1909
6	Mel Sabin	1909	1910
7	A.J. Nordale	1910	1911
8	F.S. Gordon	1911	1912
9	Dan Driscoll	1912	1913
10	E.C. Heacock	1913	1913
11	Murray C. Smith	1913	1915
12	Andrew Nerland	1915	1916
13	R.R. Meyers	1916	1917
14	G.M. Smith	1917	1917
15	Henry T. Ray	1917	1918
16	E.E. Suter	1918	1919
17	A.L. Wilbur	1919	1921
18	C.H. Woodward	1921	1922
19	R.W. Ferguson	1922	1923
20	Thomas A. Marquam	1923	1925
21	Dr. Frank De La Vergne	1925	1931
22	Jessie F. Bryant	1931	1933
23	Arnold Nordale	1933	1934
24	E. B. Collins	1934	1938
25	Arthur Leslie Nerland	1938	1940
26	William Growden	1940	1943
27	Howard G. Hughes	1943	1945
28	Alfeld Hjalmar Nordale	1945	1948
29	Ray Kohler	1948	1949
30	Maurice Johnson	1949	1950
31	Robert Hoopes	1950	1952
32	Ralph J. Rivers	1952	1954
33	Douglas Preston	1954	1957
34	Paul B. Haggland	1957	1960
35	Joseph M. Ribar	1960	1962
36	Darrell Brewington	1962	1965
37	Sylvia Ringstad	1965	1966
38	H. A. Boucher	1966	1970
39	Julian C. Rice	1970	1972
40	Harold Gillam	1972	1978
41	William Ransom Wood	1978	1980
42	Ruth E. Burnett	1980	1982
43	Bill Walley	1982	1988
44	James D. Nordale	1988	1990
45	Wayne S. Nelson	1990	1992
46	James C. Hayes	1992	2001
47	Steve M. Thompson	2001	2007
48	Terry Strle	2007	2010
49	Jerry Cleworth	2010	2013
50	John Eberhart	2013	2016
51	Jim Matherly	October 24, 2016	October 24, 2022
52	David Pruhs	October 24, 2022	Present

Mayors of Fairbanks North Star Borough

Then-borough mayor Jim Whitaker and current mayor Karl Kassel at the Fairbanks Labor Day parade in 2008.

Jim Sampson (2008)

Juanita Helms (1959)

Bil Allen (1977)

The leader of the borough was first called "chairman." This changed to "mayor" in the mid-1970s. Around the same time, the term of office changed from two years to three years. This job is non-partisan, meaning the person's political party does not officially matter for the role.

Nr.	Name	Term start	Term end
1	John D. Schleppegrell	1964	1966
2	Harold Gillam	1966	1968
3	John A. Carlson	1968	1982
4	Bill Allen	1982	1985
5	Juanita Helms	1985	1990
6	Jim Sampson	1990	1997
7	Hank Hove	1997	2000
8	Rhonda Boyles (R)	2000	2003
9	Jim Whitaker (R)	2003	2009
10	Luke T. Hopkins (D)	2009	2015
11	Karl Kassel (I)	2015	2018
12	Bryce Ward (R)	2018	2024
13	Grier Hopkins (D)	2024	Present

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List of mayors of Fairbanks, Alaska Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.

List of mayors of Fairbanks, Alaska facts for kids

Mayors of the City of Fairbanks

Mayors of Fairbanks North Star Borough