Stephen Gregory Fisk (September 26, 1945 – November 30, 2015) was the 13th mayor of the unified City and Borough of

Juneau, Alaska The City and Borough of Juneau, more commonly known simply as Juneau ( ; tli, Dzánti K'ihéeni ), is the capital city of the state of Alaska. Located in the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle, it is a unified municipality and the se ...

, the state capital 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., ...

, United States. Prior to his election, Fisk had worked as a

fisheries Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a. fishing ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, both ...

consultant A consultant (from la, consultare "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice and other purposeful activities in an area of specialization. Consulting servic ...

. He died at home just over a month into his term of office after being elected over incumbent Merrill Sanford by a wide margin.

Education

Greg Fisk graduated from

West Anchorage High School West Anchorage High School (formerly Anchorage High School) is a public high school in Anchorage, Alaska. The school is part of the Anchorage School District (ASD). Opened in 1953, West is the oldest of ASD's eight major high schools. Serving the ...

Anchorage, Alaska 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 ...

, in 1963. Fisk went on to attend

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

, where he received a B.A. in

Geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...

in 1971.

Business career

Fisk was the founder and owner of SeaFisk Consulting & Management, LLC., a Juneau-based company which provides consulting services for

, and the Alaskan seafood industry. SeaFisk has not been limited to consultations involving seafood. In 2012, SeaFisk collaborated with the Juneau Economic Development Council over a proposed downtown public shuttle, known as the Circulator. When Greg Fisk's son, Ian, graduated from the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

, they traveled to

Ensenada, Mexico Ensenada is a city in Ensenada Municipality, Baja California, situated on the Pacific Coast of Mexico. Located on the Bahía de Todos Santos, the city had a population of 279,765 in 2018, making it the third-largest city in Baja California. The ...

and bought a fishing vessel from the Mexican government. They sailed the vessel to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, where they refurbished it. Both Fisks remained involved in the fishing industry.

Political career

Prior to 2015, Fisk had never run for elected office, and was largely unknown in the politics of Alaska. However, Fisk was involved for many years in issues related to fishing, a large industry in Alaska. Fisk served as chairman of a City and Borough of Juneau task force that sought to bring 175

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...

jobs to Juneau from Seattle.

Elected mayor

In 2015, Greg Fisk filed paperwork to run for mayor of Juneau on the last day available to file, challenging Merrill Sanford, a first-term mayor who had been running unopposed for re-election. Fisk was widely seen as having run an aggressive campaign, while Sanford's campaign was notably lower in profile. On October 6, 2015, Fisk was elected mayor of Juneau, winning a substantial majority of votes. Unofficial vote totals gave Fisk a 2-1 vote margin over Sanford. Fisk, a resident of the Starr Hill neighborhood, was the first mayor of Juneau in more than 20 years (since Jamie Parsons, who left office in 1994) not to live on

Douglas Island Douglas Island is a tidal island in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is part of the city and borough of Juneau, just west of downtown Juneau and east of Admiralty Island. It is separated from mainland Juneau by the Gastineau Channel, and contains t ...

Political positions

During the 2015 Juneau mayoral race, Fisk stated that he supported raising the

minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. Bec ...

. Fisk voted to legalize recreational use of

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

in Alaska. Fisk also supported enacting a ban on discrimination against the

LGBT community The LGBT community (also known as the LGBTQ+ community, GLBT community, gay community, or queer community) is a loosely defined grouping of lesbian, gay men, gay, bisexuality, bisexual, transgender, and other queer individuals united by a comm ...

in housing and other public accommodation, and stated that he believes human activity is contributing to global warming.

Death

Fisk was found dead by his son, Ian, at his home on Kennedy Street on November 30, 2015. The following day, his body was sent to

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 ...

for an autopsy, and a preliminary autopsy found that his injuries were consistent with those resulting from a fall and that Fisk died from natural causes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fisk, Greg 1945 births 2015 deaths American consultants Indiana University alumni Mayors of Juneau, Alaska Politicians from Anchorage, Alaska