Dan Sullivan (mayor)

Dan Sullivan
Mayor of Anchorage, Alaska
Incumbent
Assumed office July 1, 2009
Preceded by	Matt Claman
Member of the Anchorage Assembly
In office April 1999 – April 2008
Preceded by	Joe Murdy
Succeeded by	Harriet Drummond
Personal details
Born	June 16, 1951 (1951-06-16)
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Lynnette
Relations	George M. Sullivan (father)
Children	Jennifer
Residence	Anchorage, Alaska
Alma mater	University of Oregon
Profession	Consultant, business owner

Daniel A. "Dan" Sullivan (born June 16, 1951) is the incumbent Mayor of Anchorage, Alaska, the state's largest city. He is a member of the Republican Party and the son of Anchorage's longest-serving mayor, George M. Sullivan. Prior to being elected mayor, he served the maximum of three consecutive terms on the Anchorage Assembly, from 1999 to 2008.

Biography

Daniel A. Sullivan was one of nine children born to George Murray and Margaret Mary (née Eagan) Sullivan. His parents were natives of the Alaskan communities of Valdez and Fairbanks, respectively. He graduated from the University of Oregon with a bachelor's degree in political science. In the mid-1990s, he served as executive director of the Arctic Winter Games, which were held in 1996 in the northern Anchorage communities of Chugiak and Eagle River.

In 1999, Sullivan was elected to the first of three consecutive terms on the Anchorage Assembly. During his time on the assembly he sponsored an ordinance requiring lobbyists to disclose their affiliations when petitioning city government, which was largely in response to the lobbying efforts conducted within the municipal government by Tom Anderson, who concurrently served in the Alaska House of Representatives. In 2005, he voted against an Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility rate increase, and in 2006 he challenged a city ordinance limiting the size and style of signs.

In 2006, Sullivan along with partners opened a bar and restaurant in downtown Anchorage called McGinley's Pub, which is located next to Anchorage City Hall.

Mayor of Anchorage

In 2007, Sullivan announced his candidacy for Mayor of Anchorage. He received the endorsement of former U.S. Senator Ted Stevens. Sullivan campaigned on a platform of reducing city spending and crime, and confronting what he termed "an energy crisis" as the result of dwindling natural gas reserves in Cook Inlet.

Sullivan gained the plurality of votes in the April 7, 2009 general election, in which a record 15 candidates appeared on the ballot, but failed to reach 45 percent, triggering a May 5 runoff against Eric Croft, who had come in second with 19.61% of the vote.

Sales taxes became the major issue in the runoff campaign between Sullivan and Croft, with Croft charging that Sullivan wanted to replace property taxes with a sales tax. Sullivan won the May 5 runoff election with 57.3% of the vote to Croft's 42.7%.

Sullivan was sworn in as Mayor on July 1, 2009, succeeding acting mayor Matt Claman. He announced that his administration will introduce a celebration called "All Americans Week."

Since taking office, he has gained nationwide attention for vetoing Assembly legislation which would have included municipal protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation, and for proposing legislation to prohibit sitting or camping on public sidewaks as part of an effort to curb Anchorage's homelessness problem.

Sullivan is a third-generation Alaskan mayor. His paternal grandmother, Viola (née Murray) Sullivan, was mayor of Valdez in the 1930s.

See also

• Anchorage mayoral election, 2009
• George M. Sullivan
• List of mayors of Anchorage, Alaska

References

• Hunter, Don (April 25, 2009). "Sullivan takes pride in record of going against the majority". Anchorage Daily News. http://www.adn.com/politics/story/773190.html. 
• Hunter, Don; Holland, Megan (May 6, 2009). "Sullivan wins runoff for Anchorage mayor". Anchorage Daily News: p. A1. http://www.adn.com/mayor/story/784846.html. 
• Hunter, Don (July 2, 2009). "Sullivan sworn in". Anchorage Daily News: p. A1. http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/anchorage/story/850621.html. 

Specific

External links

• Sullivan for Anchorage campaign web site
• Additional Information

Political offices
Preceded by Matt Claman	Mayor of Anchorage 2009–	Incumbent
Preceded by Joe Murdy	Member of the Anchorage Assembly 1999-2008	Succeeded by Harriet Drummond