FILE - In this Nov. 3, 1987, file photo, Republican Tom Fink, left, celebrates after winning the runoff election in Anchorage, Alaska, for Anchorage mayor by more than 7,000 votes. Fink is with Democrat Dave Walsh, who conceded the election about two hours after the polls closed, holding Fink's arms up in a victory salute. Fink, a former speaker of the Alaska House of Representatives who later became mayor of Anchorage, has died. He was 92. Fink died of "complications from old age," his son, Josh Fink, said on Saturday, June 5, 2021. (AP Photo/Randy Belinsky, File)
Republished June 06, 2021 - 4:27 PM
Original Publication Date June 06, 2021 - 3:16 PM
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Tom Fink, a former speaker of the Alaska House of Representatives who later became mayor of Anchorage, has died. He was 92.
Fink died of “complications from old age," his son, Josh Fink, said on Saturday. He had been taken to a hospital last week.
Fink served in the Alaska House of Representatives from 1967 to 1975, and became speaker in 1973. He was also the Republican nominee for Alaska governor in 1982 but lost before serving as mayor of Anchorage from 1987 to 1994, succeeding Tony Knowles.
“He was a fiscal conservative,” Knowles told the Anchorage Daily News. “When people talk about the Republican Party, the Grand Old Party, that’s who you think of ... you think of people like Tom Fink.”
He added: “It was never personal — which was really unusual — at a time when we have the hate agenda that is so prevalent in politics today.”
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy, a Republican, announced on Saturday that all U.S. and Alaska flags will fly at half-staff in honor of Fink on a date to be determined by his family.
“Tom was a talented public servant and driven leader who worked diligently for his constituents both as a representative and as Anchorage’s mayor. There is no question that Tom lived a full life and left a lasting impact on those he knew and faithfully served,” Dunleavy said.
Fink had 11 children, 17 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
“We’re going to miss him a lot,” Josh Fink said.
News from © The Associated Press, 2021