Fairbanks incorporated in 1903, and after swearing Monday to faithfully discharge her duties to the best of her ability, Mindy O’Neall became the city’s 53rd mayor.
She takes over from David Pruhs, who served one term of three years. She won this year’s election by a little more than 300 votes, with about 54% of ballots cast for O’Neall and 46% for Pruhs. Pruhs got the job after the 2022 election, when he earned about 56% of the vote.
Farewells to the outgoing mayor were overwhelmingly positive Monday, though his time in office wasn’t unmarked by controversy, and some decried as racist one of his Facebook posts earlier this year that seemed to imply a connection between Alaska Natives and vandalism downtown. He later apologized.
In a statement afterward, Tanana Chiefs Conference said the situation should “energize our efforts to register, show up, and vote for leaders who will uplift, not divide.”
While the roughly 16.5% of city voters who turned out this year signaled they were ready for a change, every city council member praised Pruhs’ overall performance at Monday’s meeting. That included members who occasionally had some friction with him, like Councilmember Valerie Therrien, who ran against Pruhs in the 2022 mayoral race and donated to O’Neall’s campaign this year, according to Alaska Public Offices Commission (APOC) filings.
“I think you’ve done an excellent job, especially in regard to downtown Fairbanks and all the initiatives that you’ve presented,” she said in parting remarks.
O’Neall will be governing alongside a council that’s unchanged from the previous year after both incumbents, Sue Sprinkle and Crystal Tidwell, won another term, and current members have often described the council as a well-oiled machine. Member Lonny Marney, a backer of Pruhs’ campaign, according to APOC filings, said he hopes that keeps going under the new administration.
“I think we’ve got a lot of momentum going right now,” he said. “And I’d hate to lose that. So, hopefully we can continue that momentum and not go dormant.”
Later on in the meeting, City Chief of Staff Mike Sanders, who APOC filings show also donated to Pruhs’ reelection campaign in a personal capacity, listed off what he says are some of the outgoing mayor’s achievements.
“I’ve got three pages that I’m going to fly through. These are the accomplishments that this guy made happen,” Sanders said.
He read from the list for about seven minutes. It included things like Pruhs leading the effort to demolish the Polaris Building, having record surpluses in proposed budgets, backing recruitment and retention programs for short-staffed departments, launching a grant program to improve storefronts and helping start an academy for citizen engagement.
Sanders, who also spent some time as chief of staff under Pruhs’ predecessor, Jim Matherly, said Pruhs “has set the bar for what it means to be a mayor in Fairbanks.”
Sanders told KUAC by phone Tuesday that he’s set to continue as chief of staff under O’Neall, and that O’Neall does not plan to make changes in any leadership roles, like department heads, at the city.
After the council certified the election, Pruhs accepted a ceremonial gold pan to commemorate his public service, and then stepped down. He credited city staff and the council for their work and said he feels fortunate to have had the job.
“You gave me a great open range. And I enjoyed it. I enjoyed every bit of it. I enjoyed every day,” he said. “And when you enjoy every day, you’re going to accomplish a lot of stuff.”
O’Neall then wielded the gavel as the new mayor for the closing stages of Monday’s meeting. Council members gave their welcome, and O’Neall thanked citizens for electing her, also saying she looks forward to working with city staff.
“I appreciate your warm welcome and your steadfast dedication to the city.," she said. "I’m very excited for the next three to six years together."