Nome voters elect first Alaska Native woman mayor
ANCHORAGE - Denise Michels, who was elected mayor of Nome by voters last week, is the first Alaska Native woman to hold the post in the town's 100-year history.
A 37-year-old Inupiaq, Michels hopes to establish better communication between Native organizations and the largely non-Native city council.
"Relations are pretty good, but they can be better. There's always room for improvement," Michels said.
The Bering Sea community of Nome, located about 560 miles northwest of Anchorage, has a population of about 3,500 residents, and 58 percent of them are Alaska Natives.
The new mayor joins a growing generation of Alaska Natives in leadership positions, said Democratic state Rep. Mary Kapsner of Bethel, who is half Yup'ik Eskimo.
"I'm really excited about where Alaska is going and where Alaska Natives are going," she said. "I really feel like Alaskans are accepting my generation into leadership positions and helping us be trained to be elders."
Opponent Leo Rasmussen, 62, had served as 12 years as mayor - winning periodic terms beginning in 1977 - and 20 years in city government. But he had drawn criticism for his extensive travels on city business.
Rasmussen is a former oil and mining worker, state Republican Party chairman and newspaper owner who helped organize the first full-length Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. He runs a music shop in Nome.
Michels, who manages facility grants and construction projects for Kawerak, said she looks forward to her new part-time job.
"Local issues was what I wanted to concentrate on," she said.