Correction: Patrick Roach and Garrett Armstrong were the two winners of the contested races for FNSB Assembly. Brett Rotermund, a conservative, won an uncontested race for re-election, although a last-minute write-in campaign garnered about a quarter of the vote.
Progressive candidate Mindy O’Neall’s victory over Fairbanks Mayor David Pruhs — a conservative who recently made racist comments toward Alaska Natives — headlined a nearly clean sweep for progressives of the area’s local elections Tuesday night.
In races for Fairbanks Mayor, Fairbanks City Council, Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly and the Fairbanks North Star Borough School Board, progressives won all but one of the contested races, according to preliminary results.
With a turnout of about 15%, O’Neall received about 54% of the vote, or 1,808 votes, to Pruhs’ 45.7%, or 1,528 votes. O’Neall currently serves as the presiding officer of the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly, which is the legislative body for the larger Fairbanks area. She’ll take over as the mayor of the 32,000-resident City of Fairbanks.
“My campaign was about building a Fairbanks where everyone is respected, where housing is affordable and where public safety is rooted in trust and where our community is vibrant and resilient,” she said in a social media post following the results. “Our campaign was built on collaboration and compassion, and that’s exactly how I’ll lead.”
Pruhs, according to KUAC, has conceded.
Progressives also won every contested seat for the Fairbanks City Council and the Borough Assembly. Incumbent City Council Member Sue Sprinkle won re-election (57%), and Patrick Roach and Garrett Armstrong won spots on the Assembly. Races for the school board were still close, but progressive Naomi Hewitt holds a slight lead in one of the two races.
The lone contested race to have been won by a conservative is for school board seat C, where Audra Hull has a sizable lead over Sam Spencer. Conservative FNSB Assembly member Brett Rotermund ran unopposed, but a late-forming write-in campaign garnered about a quarter of the vote.
While it’s an off-year election, the results are good news for progressives, taking the temperature on voter attitudes 10 months into the Trump presidency. In the national media, the race was hailed as a bellwether, with Newsweek breathlessly reporting “Republican Ousted By Democrat in Shock Election Defeat,” noting it was the first time in a decade that a progressive would hold the non-partisan seat.
But, to those paying attention to local Fairbanks politics, the results are less of a shock. Pruhs has long resorted to stoking partisan divisions in the city with the usual conservative attacks on marginalized groups, which ultimately landed him in hot water this year when he posted to social media critical about homeless people at the downtown plaza being people “coming in from the villages or out of shelters to live their lifestyle,” and stated, “We operate downtown on behalf of Fairbanks residents, because we live here, not for visitors.”
The comments drew fierce backlash from just about every corner of the Fairbanks community, including the influential Tanana Chiefs Conference. It also drew its supporters, who used Pruhs’ post as permission to say more hateful and racist things against their Alaska Native neighbors. Pruhs eventually offered a less-than-sincere apology, literally saying, “If you deem that as racist, I do apologize.”
In a statement responding to his apology, TCC leadership said the comments revealed that the city’s long and painful history of racism against Alaska Natives still has its roots in Fairbanks. While the statement said it should be a learning opportunity for Pruhs, it also served as a call to action.
“This moment also reminds us why voting is so important.
When we vote, we shape the kind of leadership we see in our communities. We elect those who reflect our values, who understand our history, who respect the diversity and dignity of our people, and who stand with — not against — the communities they serve. Let this moment be a wake-up call. Let it energize our efforts to register, show up, and vote for leaders who will uplift, not divide.
Our voice is our power — in council meetings, in public forums, and especially at the ballot box.”