Digital Bob Archive

Ronald Reagan, we have it on good authority, is the 40th Pesident of the United States, but only the 39th man to hold that office. The count comes out that way because Grover Cleveland served two nonconsecutive terms and he was both the 22nd and 24th President of the United States. By that kind of enumeration, Bill Sheffield is the 6th Governor of Alaska.

And what is Ernie Polley's number in a list of Juneau mayors? By the best count I have been able to make, using that same style of numbering for non-consecutive terms, Ernie is No. 38 on the list.

There have been changes in the dates of the election, from June to April to October; and in the lengths of the term: one, two and three years. The first 12 mayors of Juneau, from 1900 until 1917, were elected by the city council from among their own members. The title then was President of the Council and ex-officio Mayor. Emery Valentine, the 13th mayor, was the first to be elected as mayor directly by the voters.

The following table shows the numerical rank, name, years in which the person served as mayor, and the number of terms to which elected. 'P' indicates service as mayor for less than a full year. Letters (a, b, etc.) following the term indicates a footnote. Over the years many council members have served as acting mayor in the absence of the elected mayor; they are not included in this list.

MAYORS OF JUNEAU

1. A.K. Delaney, 1900-1901, 1
2. George F. Forrest, 1901-1902, 1
3. O.H. Adsit, 1902-1904, 2
4. George F. Forrest, 1904-1905, 1
5. John F. Maloney, 1905-1906, 1
6. Herman T. Tripp, 1906-1907, 1
7. George F. Forrest, 1907-1908, 1
8. Emery Valentine, 1908-1912, 4
9. Harry A. Bishop, 1912-1913, 1
10. Charles W. Carter, 1913-1914, 1
11. John Reck, 1914-1916, 2
12. B.D. Stewart, 1916-1917, 1
13. Emery Valentine, 1917-1919, 2
14. J. Latimer Gray, 1919-1920, 1
15. R.E. Robertson, 1920-1923, 3
16. I. Goldstein, 1923-1925, 2
17. J.J. Connors, 1925-1927, 2
18. Thomas B. Judson, 1927-1933, 6
19. I. Goldstein, 1933-1937, 4
20. Thomas B. Judson, 1937-1938, 1
21. Harry I. Lucas, 1938-1944, 6
22. A.B. 'Cot' Hayes, 1944-1945, 1
23. Ernest Parsons, 1945-1946, 1
24. Waino Hendrickson, 1946-1953, 5 (a)
25. Bert McDowell, 1953-1955, 1 (b)
26. M.L. MacSpadden, 1955-1959, 2
27. Lauris Parker, 1959-1961, 1 (c)
28. J. Wayne Johnson, 1961, P (d)
29. A.W. Boddy, 1961, P (e)
30. Lauris Parker, 1961-1967, 2
31. Timothy O'Day, 1967, P (f)
32. Joseph George, 1967-1969, 1
33. Joe McLean, 1969-1973, 2 (g)
34. Bill Macomber, 1973-1975, 1 (h)
35. Virginia Kline, 1975-1976, 1 (i)
36. Bill Overstreet, 1976-1983, 3 (j)
37. Fran Ulmer, 1983-1985, 1 (k)
38. Ernie Polley, 1985-

a. Waino Hendrickson served 3 one-year terms and was in his second two-year term when he resigned in April, 1953, to become Secretary of Alaska.

b. Bert McDowell, senior council member, became acting mayor on April 9, 1953, following the resignation of Hendrickson. In October he ran for and was elected to a full two-year term.

c. Lauris Parker had a complex mayoralty. He was elected in 1959 to a two-year term. On October 4, 1960, a new city charter was approved by the voters and on January 19, 1961, Parker became Acting City Manager. On the following June 6, in a special election, the voters reconsidered and adopted a \"strong mayor\" government. In October, 1961, Parker was elected mayor for a three-year term, and was re-elected in 1964. On June 6, 1967, the voters again went to the polls and again approved the city manager form of government, turning Parker out of office.

d. J. Wayne Johnson, a member of the council, was named mayor by the council on January 19, 1961, when Parker became Acting City Manager. He served until June 6 when he resigned rather than become full time mayor.

e. A.W. Boddy was elected by the council on June 6, 1961, to replace J. Wayne Johnson until the election that fall.

f. Timothy O'Day, senior member of the council and vice-mayor, was elected mayor by the council when the city manager government was installed in June, 1967.

g. Joe McLean served from October 10, 1969, to March 31, 1970, as mayor of the City of Juneau. The city and borough were unified by vote of the electors on February 17, 1970, and on March 31, 1970, McLean was elected mayor of the City and Borough of Juneau, for a three-year term.

h. Macomber resigned after two years of his three-year term.

i. Virginia Kline, Juneau's first woman mayor, elected for one year to fill out the term of Bill Macomber.

j. Bill Overstreet was elected to 3 three-year terms as mayor. He resigned during the first year of his third term.

k. Fran Ulmer was elected in 1983 to fill the two unexpired years of Bill Overstreet's term.