Juanita Lou Helms

Borough mayor of Fairbanks In July 1985, Helms announced her intention to run for the position of borough mayor. Her opponent was the incumbent mayor, Bill Allen. She tied with Allen in five of the electoral precincts, and won outright in the remaining 32. and found to have violated the borough's finance laws. Helms's chief financial officer attempted to resign over the incident in June, 1986, but Helms refused to accept her resignation until late July. She was criticized by some local residents for how she handled the incident, saying that she should have withdrawn the investment earlier.

She was re-elected in 1988, winning against Donna Gilbert. During her campaign, her opposition pointed to her handling of the 1986 financial issues, while her supporters focused on cost-cutting measures and other savings her administration had made. During the trip, she and the other delegates came across a local protest concerning people being denied entrance into the Red Square. One of her companions, Melissa Chapin, thought that Helms would attempt to join and face arrest, saying "I was afraid [...] I was going to have to call back to Fairbanks and tell them the mayor was in jail."

By 1989, Fairbanks had elected a politically conservative city council at odds with Helms, The assembly limited her veto power and gave themselves more power over the city's finances, In January, 1990, Helms sued the assembly, accusing them of interfering with her office. Gilbert responded, claiming that Helms had taken away the assembly's power and misused her power of veto.

Helms did not stand for re-election in the 1991 race.

Post-mayoral career In 2015, the Fairbanks North Star Borough Administrative Center (pictured) was named in honor of Juanita Helms. In 1992, Helms ran as a Democrat for the Alaska State Senate, but lost to Republican Bert Sharp. She ran for city mayor of Fairbanks in 1998.

As of 1996, she was the chairwoman for the Interior Democrats, and later, in 2001, Helms was the Vice-chair of the Alaska Democratic Party.

Later life and legacy Helms remained politically and socially active until her death, writing letters to the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner and continuing her volunteer work and involvement in sister city programs. Helms was inducted into the Alaska Women's Hall of Fame in 2016, and the Fairbanks North Star Borough administrative center was renamed to the Juanita Helms Administrative Center in her honor.