Byron Mallott

Byron Ivar Mallott (April 6, 1943 – May 8, 2020) was an American politician, elder, tribal activist, and business executive from the state of Alaska. Mallott was an Alaska Native leader of Tlingit heritage and the leader of the Kwaash Ké Kwaan clan. He was the 12th lieutenant governor of Alaska from December 2014 until his resignation on October 16, 2018. He also previously served as the mayor of Yakutat, the mayor of Juneau, the president of the Alaska Federation of Natives and the executive director of the Alaska Permanent Fund.

Mallott was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Alaska in 2014, until he agreed to merge his campaign with that of independent candidate Bill Walker and become Walker's running mate. Walker and Mallott won the election and were sworn in on December 1, 2014. In 2018, Mallott abruptly resigned after it was discovered he made inappropriate overtures to a woman.

Early life and education

Mallott was born on April 6, 1943, in Yakutat in the Territory of Alaska, to Jay B. Mallott and Emma M. Brown. Mallott was an Alaskan Native of the Tlingit tribe. His Tlingit name was Dux̱ da neiḵ, K'oo del ta', which means "'a person who would lead us into the future'". Mallott's father established a general store in a spare room of the family home in 1946. Mallott spent most of his childhood living in Yakutat.

At age 13, Mallott began attending Pius X Mission, a Catholic boarding school located in Skagway, Alaska. He graduated from Sheldon Jackson High School and studied for several years at Western Washington State College in Bellingham, Washington.

Career Mallott's political career began in 1965 when his father, who served as Yakutat's mayor for the vast majority of the position's existence, died. He left college and returned to Yakutat, running to replace him, and won the election.

After Egan was defeated for re-election by Walter Hickel in 1966, Mallott returned to Yakutat and served on the city council.

In 1968, Mallott received the Democratic nomination for the 5th district in the Alaska House of Representatives. In the general election he was narrowly defeated by Henry E. Reeves by twenty-three votes. Mallott posted the $250 for a recount, but the vote total remained the same. In 1969, Senator Mike Gravel appointed him to serve as a special assistant.

Mallott became chairman of Alaska's Reapportionment Board. On September 5, 1980, he resigned from the board for personal reasons.

In 1982, Mallott was appointed to the board of trustees of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation by Governor Jay Hammond to replace Elmer Rasmuson. In 1985, he was selected to serve as the chairman of the permanent fund; he later served as its executive director from 1995 to 2000. On August 16, 1994, Mallott announced that he would run in Juneau's mayoral election. He was elected mayor of Juneau in that municipality's 1994 general election. He resigned from office after he was selected to serve as the executive director of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation. Mallott faced harsh criticism when he initially announced that he could handle serving in both positions, leading to changing his mind and resigning the mayoral position. Mallott was succeeded as mayor by deputy mayor Dennis Egan.

Lieutenant Governor of Alaska 2014 election

Mallott announced on September 2, 2013 that he was running for the Democratic nomination for governor of Alaska in the 2014 election. He won the Democratic gubernatorial primary with 80% of the vote on August 19, 2014. They won the election on November 4, 2014, as there was a recount due to a close election result.

2018 election

In 2017, Walker and Mallott registered to run for re-election on an independent ticket. Despite running for reelection as an independent, Mallott maintained his Democratic Party registration.

Tenure Mallott signed state marijuana regulations into effect in January 2016. In 2016, Raven Radio reported that Mallott had logged 280,000 Alaska Air Miles in the first two years of his tenure as lieutenant governor.

Mallott resigned his post as lieutenant governor on October 16, 2018, citing "inappropriate comments" that he had made to a woman whom Governor Walker refused to name. He was succeeded as lieutenant governor by Valerie Davidson, the former commissioner of the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services.

Business career In 1972, Mallott became a member of the newly formed Sealaska Corporation and was elected director. He served as chairman of the board from 1976 to 1983. In 1982, he was selected to serve as the CEO and kept his position until retirement on July 1, 1992. He also established a permanent fund for Sealaska shareholders. The fund had grown to a net worth of $100 million by the late 1990s. Mallott served on the board of Sealaska until 2014.

Electoral history