Fairbanks narrowly elects former Democratic state legislator as borough mayor

Fairbanks North Star Borough voters narrowly elected a former Democratic state legislator to serve as borough mayor for the next three years.

Grier Hopkins, who served two terms in the Alaska Legislature until 2023, won the election after absentee and questioned ballots were counted Tuesday evening. He defeated former longtime Republican state Sen. John Coghill by 0.79%, or 154 votes. Third-place finisher Robert Shields got less than 4% of the vote total.

The mayoral race was civil and respectful between the two front-runners. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported that once final results were announced, Coghill and Hopkins hugged each other.

“Running with John was really nice, because we both knew that our goals for the community were similar, and we wanted to see the borough succeed and thrive and grow,” Hopkins said.

“We came to the same conclusion on what the community needs, and we had a little different approach on how to get there,” Coghill said in a separate Wednesday interview.

The position of Fairbanks borough mayor is a nonpartisan one. But like education debates at a state level, the two front-runners’ positions on schools reflected their party backgrounds. Hopkins said that as borough mayor, he would advocate for more state funding for schools. Coghill said he wanted a more holistic approach to education that focused on improving outcomes.

Hopkins said his priorities as borough mayor include strong economic development, well-funded schools and a good quality of life in Fairbanks with a focus on parks and recreation. He said incentivizing new construction would create a larger tax base in Fairbanks, which in turn would see more funding available for education.

After being elected mayor, Hopkins will now resign from his job at NEA-Alaska, the state’s largest union for teachers. He will be sworn in at an Assembly meeting on Oct. 24. He will succeed Mayor Bryce Ward, who reached his term limit.

Like Anchorage, the Fairbanks North Star Borough has a strong-mayor form of government. That means the mayor, rather than a city manager, appoints key personnel and oversees day-to-day operations in the municipality.

“Taking on a $180 million business, essentially, is going to be invigorating and exciting for the changes that that much influence can have on our borough and our population in a positive way,” Hopkins said.

Coghill served in the Alaska Legislature from 1999 until he was defeated in the 2020 Republican primary election, alongside six other GOP incumbents. At 74 years old, Coghill was unsure if he would run again for office.

“My wife told me yesterday, ‘no more, let’s not do this again.’ But it was an emotional response to losing, right?” Coghill said.

He plans to continue serving as director of Fairbanks Rescue Mission, an emergency shelter that serves unhoused residents. With decades of experience in Alaska politics and in the Fairbanks community, Coghill says he plans to keep contributing.

“I love it. And what I know, I think, is important to keep adding into the mix. I’ll probably do that until the day I die,” he said with a chuckle.

Coghill and Hopkins are both members of Fairbanks political dynasties. Coghill’s father, Jack Coghill, signed the Alaska Constitution and served as Alaska’s sixth lieutenant governor. Hopkins’ father, Luke Hopkins, previously served as mayor of the Fairbanks borough. In the 2016 general election, John Coghill defeated Luke Hopkins for a state Senate seat.

Like the mayoral race, two Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly races had high-profile candidates. Former North Pole Republican Rep. Tammie Wilson was reelected by a 1% margin. Former Democratic Fairbanks Rep. David Guttenberg — Hopkins’ uncle — won reelection to the Assembly by nearly 10 points.

Several legislative seats in Fairbanks are expected to be key for whether Republicans or bipartisan majorities govern in the state House and Senate. But it’s unclear if borough election results will necessarily translate to the November general election.

Hopkins said that Fairbanks voters don’t pay much attention to the partisan lean of candidates. Coghill said the narrow margin for borough mayor reflected the razor-thin divide between conservatives and progressives in Fairbanks.

“That’s our town,” he said.