Bruce Biers (or Byers) Kendall (February 28, 1919 – July 6, 2012) was an American hotelier and Republican and Democratic

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

from the territory and state of

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

. A

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

, Kendall was born in

Martinsburg, Nebraska Martinsburg is a village in Dixon County, Nebraska, United States. It is part of the Sioux City, IA–NE– SD Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 94 at the 2010 census. History Martinsburg was laid out in 1874. It was n ...

and grew up in

Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County, ...

. He later moved to Alaska, living in Cordova, Valdez and

Anchorage Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...

. He became one of the first members of the Alaska House of Representatives in 1959 after

statehood A state is a centralized political organization that imposes and enforces rules over a population within a territory. There is no undisputed definition of a state. One widely used definition comes from the German sociologist Max Weber: a "sta ...

. In 1963, he became the first Republican Speaker of the Alaska House of Representatives. After Democrats regained control of the House, he was replaced as a speaker by

Mike Gravel Maurice Robert "Mike" Gravel ( ; May 13, 1930 – June 26, 2021) was an American politician and writer who served as a United States Senator from Alaska from 1969 to 1981 as a member of the Democratic Party, and who later in life twice ran for ...

, future

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

. Kendall remained a member of the State House until 1966. He later switched to the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, and was the party's nominee for an open seat on the

Alaska Senate The Alaska State Senate is the upper house in the Alaska Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. It convenes in the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau, Alaska and is responsible for making laws and confirming or rejecting gub ...

in 1978, losing to

Arliss Sturgulewski Jane Arliss Sturgulewski (née Wright; September 27, 1927 – April 7, 2022) was an American businesswoman and Republican politician from the U.S. state of Alaska. In a political career in which she started appearing in the spotlight in 1975, she ...

External links

The Political Graveyard

Kendall, Bruce Biers
(Google Books)

Bruce Kendall
at ''100 Years of Alaska's Legislature'' 1919 births 2012 deaths Alaska Democrats Alaska Republicans American hoteliers Methodists from Alaska Businesspeople from Anchorage, Alaska Politicians from Anchorage, Alaska People from Cordova, Alaska People from Dixon County, Nebraska Politicians from Sioux City, Iowa People from Valdez, Alaska Speakers of the Alaska House of Representatives Members of the Alaska House of Representatives 20th-century American politicians {{Alaska-politician-stub