Tom Fink

Fink was born in Peoria, Illinois. He received a Bachelor of Science from Bradley University in 1950, and a J.D. from the University of Illinois Law School in 1952. He moved to Anchorage, Alaska in 1952, and has worked as a life insurance salesman since 1958. He received his Chartered Life Underwriter certification from American College in 1963. Fink was in partnership with Don Schroer for 20 years, doing business as The Schroer-Fink Agency. Schroer was also often involved in Fink's various campaigns for office. He died on June 4, 2021, at the age of 92.[2]

Fink was elected to the Alaska House of Representatives in 1966, and became Speaker of the House in 1973. In 1975, he resigned in protest of a new law that would have required him to release a list of his insurance clients.[3]

Fink mounted an unsuccessful bid to succeed term-limited Republican Governor of Alaska Jay Hammond in 1982. He ran on a platform promoting the relocation of the state capital from Juneau to Willow, but was defeated by Democrat Bill Sheffield.[4]

In 1986, Fink was elected Mayor of Anchorage in the wake of a dramatic drop in the price of oil, which devastated the local economy. During his term in office, he advocated the sale of ATU, the municipal telephone utility.[5] He received national attention for his stance on gay rights when he vetoed a 1993 municipal ordinance that would protect city employees from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.[6] The same year, he called for the cancellation of funding for a local theater group that included works with homosexual themes in their repertoire.[7] In both cases, he was overridden by the Anchorage Assembly. In 1997, after sitting out one term, Fink returned to politics to mount an unsuccessful challenge to incumbent Republican mayor Rick Mystrom.

• Alaska's Digital Archives Tom Fink's 1970 campaign photo
• Tom Fink at The Political Graveyard
• Tom Fink at 100 Years of Alaska's Legislature