John E. Manders (February 3, 1895 – February 18, 1973) was

Mayor of Anchorage This is a list of mayors of Anchorage, Alaska, United States. Anchorage, Alaska, Anchorage was incorporated as a city (Alaska), city on November 23, 1920. The Greater Anchorage Area Borough, which encompassed the city, was created in January 1964 ...

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., ...

from 1945 to 1946 and a leading voice among opponents of Alaskan statehood.

Biography

John Edgar Manders was born February 3, 1895, in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

to Robert Francis Manders and Letha Clementine Barnes Manders. In 1914, he married Henrietta Bertolas. He attended the

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a private Jesuit university in San Francisco, California. The university's main campus is located on a setting between the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park. The main campus is nicknamed "The Hil ...

and the

San Francisco Law School San Francisco Law School is a private, for-profit law school in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest evening law school in the Western United States. The school became non-profit in 1941 and moved to Haight Street in 196 ...

, and was admitted to the California Bar in 1918. He practiced law in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

until 1941, when he moved his practice to

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 1945, Manders was elected mayor of Anchorage. He resigned on March 18, 1946, several weeks before his term was complete, in protest of plans to weaken the mayor's office by transferring powers to the city council and to a newly created office of

city manager A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a "Mayor–council government" council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief execu ...

. "I will not be a figurehead in office," he told the press. "I'll not be a

Charlie McCarthy Charlie McCarthy is Edgar Bergen's famed ventriloquist dummy partner. Charlie was part of Bergen's act as early as high school, and by 1930, was attired in his famous top hat, tuxedo, and monocle. The character was so well-known that his populari ...

for a bunch of

Edgar Bergen Edgar John Bergen (born Edgar John Berggren; February 16, 1903 – September 30, 1978) was an American ventriloquist, actor, comedian, vaudevillian and radio performer, best known for his proficiency in ventriloquism and his characters Ch ...

s." City Council member

Winfield Ervin Jr. Winfield Ervin Jr. (1902–1985) was a mayor of Anchorage, Alaska. Biography Ervin was born in 1902 in Portland, Oregon to Winfield Ervin Sr., a native of Lebanon, Oregon and Theora McNall of Oregon. He moved with his family to Lewiston, Idaho an ...

was appointed to serve as mayor until the April 2 elections. Manders was a

tax protester A tax protester is someone who refuses to pay a tax claiming that the tax laws are unconstitutional or otherwise invalid. Tax protesters are different from tax resisters, who refuse to pay taxes as a protest against a government or its policies ...

, refusing to pay

Federal income tax Income taxes in the United States are imposed by the federal government, and most states. The income taxes are determined by applying a tax rate, which may increase as income increases, to taxable income, which is the total income less allowa ...

. In the 1950s, he campaigned against statehood for the

Territory of Alaska The Territory of Alaska or Alaska Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from August 24, 1912, until Alaska was granted statehood on January 3, 1959. The territory was previously Russian America, 1784–1867; the ...

, earning himself the title of "Statehood Foe #1" from ''

Life Magazine ''Life'' was an American magazine published weekly from 1883 to 1972, as an intermittent "special" until 1978, and as a monthly from 1978 until 2000. During its golden age from 1936 to 1972, ''Life'' was a wide-ranging weekly general-interest ma ...

''. Manders argued that statehood would increase the taxes of Alaskan citizens. In its place, he advocated

commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

status for the territory. Manders became known as the "Lone

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

," because much of the rest of Alaska's prospective congressional delegation was dominated by Democrats such as

Ernest Gruening Ernest Henry Gruening ( ; February 6, 1887 – June 26, 1974) was an American journalist and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, Gruening was the governor of the Alaska Territory from 1939 until 1953, and a United States Senator from A ...

Bob Bartlett Edward Lewis "Bob" Bartlett (April 20, 1904 – December 11, 1968), was an Alaska politician and a member of the Democratic Party. A key fighter for Alaska statehood, Bartlett served as the Secretary of Alaska Territory from 1939 to 1945, ...

Bill Egan William Allen Egan (October 8, 1914 – May 6, 1984) was an American Democratic politician. He served as the first governor of the State of Alaska from January 3, 1959 to 1966 and 1970 to 1974, as well as a shadow U.S. Senator from Alaska Terri ...

and

Ralph Rivers Ralph Julian Rivers (May 23, 1903 – August 14, 1976) was an American lawyer and Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician who served as the first United States Representative from Alaska, serving from statehood in 1959 to his resi ...

. In 1958, after the

U.S. Senate 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 ...

voted to admit Alaska as the 49th state, he told

Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Mar ...

: "Did you ever see anybody stop a crowd on its way to a hanging? Wait till the honeymoon is over and the taxes arrive ..." In the ensuing

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-larges ...

, he made a bid for one of the new seats in the Senate, but failed to gain the nomination of the Republican Party. Manders was a familiar sight in downtown Anchorage, where he was often seen walking with a cane and smoking a cigar. He belonged to the

Freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

and the

Shriners Shriners International, formally known as the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (AAONMS), is an American Masonic society established in 1870 and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida. Shriners International describes itself ...

. He died the morning of February 18, 1973 at Anchorage Community Hospital.

References

External links

Profile at the Political Graveyard

1895 births 1973 deaths 20th-century mayors of places in Alaska Alaska lawyers Alaska Republicans Lawyers from San Francisco Mayors of Anchorage, Alaska Politicians from Denver Politicians from San Francisco University of San Francisco alumni Lawyers from Denver American tax resisters Activists from California 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American Episcopalians {{Alaska-mayor-stub