List of mayors of Juneau, Alaska facts for kids

Incumbent mayor Beth Weldon speaks in front of the Alaska State Capitol in July 2019.

Juneau, Alaska, is a special place. It's the capital city of Alaska! On June 6, 1900, the United States Congress decided that Juneau would be Alaska's capital. This decision also allowed towns in Alaska to officially become cities for the first time. Before this, some towns like Sitka and Nome had temporary governments. Juneau didn't have a temporary government, but it did offer some important services, like fire protection and schools, before it became an official city.

After the new law was passed, Juneau officially became a city on June 29, 1900. That's when its first leaders were elected. Douglas, a town close to Juneau across the Gastineau Channel, also became a city on March 29, 1902. Over the years, 28 different people have served as mayor of Juneau, including three who filled in temporarily. Douglas had 25 different mayors.

In October 1963, a larger area called the Greater Juneau Borough was created. This happened because of a law from the state government. This law said that the most populated areas in Alaska had to become boroughs (a type of local government area) by January 1, 1964. The Greater Juneau Borough was the first of its kind. It included both Juneau and Douglas, along with many smaller towns and lots of wilderness. A few years later, a new law allowed cities and boroughs to combine. So, Juneau, Douglas, and the Greater Juneau Borough all joined together on July 1, 1970. This created the single government that Juneau has today. Since then, 16 people have served as mayor of this combined city and borough.

Leaders of the City of Juneau (1900–1970)

Juneau became an official city on June 29, 1900. It was a self-governing city before it joined with Douglas and the borough. Here are the people who served as mayor during that time:

No.	Image	Name (birth–death)	Took office	Left office
Acting		John F. Malony (1857–1919)	1900	1900
1		Arthur K. Delaney (1841–1905)	1900	1901
2		George Forrest (c. 1870–[?])	1901	1902
3		Ohlin H. Adsit (1855–1909)	1902	1904
(2)		George Forrest (c. 1870–[?])	1904	1905
4		John F. Malony (1857–1919)	1905	1906
5		Herman Tripp (1859–1939)	1906	1907
(2)		George Forrest (c. 1870–[?])	1907	1908
6		Emery Valentine (1858–1930)	1908	1912
7		Harry Bishop (c. 1869–1920)	1912	1913
8		Charles Carter (1870–1961)	1913	1914
9		John Reck (1865–c. 1950)	1914	1916
10		Benjamin D. Stewart (1878–1976)	1916	1917
(6)		Emery Valentine (1858–1930)	1917	1919
11		J. Latimer Gray	1919	1920
12		R. E. Robertson (1885–1961)	1920	1923
13		Isadore Goldstein (1883–1959)	1923	1925
14		J. J. Connors (1876–1951)	1925	1927
15		Thomas Judson (1882–1938)	1927	1933
(13)		Isadore Goldstein (1883–1959)	1933	1937
(15)		Thomas Judson (1882–1938)	1937	1938
16		Harry Lucas (1890–1949)	1938	1944
17		A. B. Hayes	1944	1945
18		Ernest Parsons	1945	1946
19		Waino Hendrickson (1896–1983)	1946	1953
20		Bert McDowell (1904–c. 1975)	1953	1955
21		M. L. "Molly" MacSpadden (1903–1961)	1955	1959
22		Lauris Parker (1918–2003)	1959	1961
Acting		J. Wayne Johnson	1961	1961
Acting		A. W. Boddy (c. 1909–1987)	1961	1961
(22)		Lauris Parker (1918–2003)	1961	1967
23		Timothy O'Day	1967	1967
24		Joseph George	1967	1969
25		Joseph McLean (1917–2012)	1969	1970

Leaders of the City of Douglas (1902–1970)

Douglas became an official city on March 29, 1902. It was also a self-governing city before it joined with Juneau. Here are the people who served as mayor of Douglas:

Leaders of the Greater Juneau Borough (1963–1970)

This table shows the mayors of the Greater Juneau Borough, which was a larger government area created in 1963 before Juneau and Douglas officially joined it.

Leaders of the City and Borough of Juneau (1970–Present)

This table lists the mayors of the combined City and Borough of Juneau, starting from when Juneau, Douglas, and the Greater Juneau Borough joined together in 1970.

No.	Image	Name (birth–death)	Took office	Left office
1		Joseph McLean (1917–2012)	1970	1973
2		William A. Macomber	1973	October 7, 1975
3		Virginia Kline	October 7, 1975	1976
4		William D. "Bill" Overstreet (1926–2013)	1976	1983
5		Fran Ulmer (1947–)	1983	1985
6		Ernest Polley (c. 1937–1997)	October 14, 1985	October 10, 1988
7		Bruce Botelho (1948–)	October 10, 1988	October 14, 1991
8		Jamie Parsons (1941–2015)	October 14, 1991	October 10, 1994
9		Byron Mallott (1943–2020)	October 10, 1994	February 13, 1995
10		Dennis Egan (1947–2022)	February 13, 1995	October 9, 2000
11		Sally Smith (1945–)	October 9, 2000	October 20, 2003
(7)		Bruce Botelho (1948–)	October 20, 2003	October 11, 2012
12		Merrill Sanford (1947–)	October 11, 2012	October 20, 2015
13		Greg Fisk (1945–2015)	October 20, 2015	November 30, 2015
14		Mary Becker (acting)	November 30, 2015	March 28, 2016
15		Ken Koelsch (c. 1945–)	March 28, 2016	October 15, 2018
16		Beth Weldon (1965–)	October 15, 2018	incumbent