Dennis Egan - Politics

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.

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

Juneau, Alaska, regular election, 1989 (District 1)
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)
Dennis Egan 5193 62.7%
Sandy Harbanuk 3063 37.0%
Write-in 22 0.3%

Egan was deputy mayor 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. Dennis Egan won reelection in 1995 and 1997. 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.

An effective mayor, Egan helped mediation efforts to end an August 1997 Alaska Native Brotherhood boycott of the 51st Golden North Salmon Derby. 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. In September 1997 Egan helped keep 200 United States Forest Service jobs from being moved from Juneau to Ketchikan.

Juneau, Alaska, regular election, 1995 (Mayor)
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)
Dennis Egan 5432 78.1%
Cory Mann 1392 20.0%
Write-in 129 1.9%

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

In April 2009, Egan was appointed to the Alaska Senate by Governor Sarah Palin to replace Kim Elton, who resigned in March 2009. Palin had refused to appoint state Representative Beth Kerttula, the preferred choice of Juneau-area Democrats, to the seat. The Democratic caucus in the Senate, in turn, refused to confirm Tim Grussendorf, who Palin appointed instead. Egan was offered the position as a compromise, as a political stalemate was brewing between Palin and the Democrats.

Egan was unopposed for election to a full term in 2010.

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