Benjamin P. Nageak (born March 26, 1950) is an American politician, having been a Democratic member of the

Alaska House of Representatives The Alaska House of Representatives is the lower house in the Alaska State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. The House is composed of 40 members, each of whom represents a district of approximately 17,756 people pe ...

between January 18, 2013, and January 17, 2017, representing District 40.

Political career

North Slope Borough

In the 1990s, Nageak was elected to the

North Slope Borough The North Slope Borough is the northernmost borough in the US state of Alaska and, thus, the northernmost county or equivalent of the United States as a whole. As of the 2020 census, the population was 11,031. The borough seat and largest cit ...

assembly. A year into his term, he was elected the borough's mayor, and served in that position for a single three-year term from 1996 to 1999. Prior to running for the Alaska House in 2012, Nageak was serving as a special assistant to the borough's mayor, Charlotte Brower.

Alaska House of Representatives

*In 2012 Nageak filed to run for the 40th District seat in the

. Incumbent Democrat Reggie Joule announced shortly before the filing deadline that he would not be a candidate for reelection; he would later to decide to run for

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

of the

Northwest Arctic Borough Northwest Arctic Borough is a List of boroughs and census areas in Alaska, borough located in the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 7,793, up from 7,523 in 2010. The borough seat is Kotze ...

and was elected to that position. Nageak won the four-way August 28, 2012 Democratic Primary with 714 votes (36.08%), and won the November 6, 2012 General election with 3,444 votes (95.91%) against

write-in candidate A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be poss ...

s. As had Joule, Nageak chose to caucus with the Republican majority. *In 2014, Nageak beat Dean Westlake of Kotzebue 1104 votes (53%) to 973 votes, in the Democratic primary and was unopposed in the general election. *2016 In the August 15th Democratic primary rematch, Nageak was apparently defeated 819 votes to 798, 50.65%–49.35% by Westlake. A recount certified on September 6 had him losing, but by only four votes, and he was expected to challenge the results. A further review of votes extended Westlake's lead to 8 votes, 825 votes to 817. An Anchorage judge, Andrew Guidi, heard Nageak's protest, took 12 votes from Weslake, and two from Nageak, giving Nageak a two-vote victory, which was appealed to the state supreme court. The Alaska Supreme Court reversed Judge Guidi's decision, handing the victory to Westlake.Westlake declared winner as Alaska Supreme Court reverses lower court in Northern Alaska legislative election
''

Alaska Dispatch News The ''Anchorage Daily News'' is a daily newspaper published by the Binkley Co., and based in Anchorage, Alaska. It is the most widely read newspaper and news website (adn.com) in the state of Alaska. The newspaper is headquartered in Anchorage ...

'', Nathaniel Herz, October 13. Retrieved October 22, 2016.

References

External links

Official page
at the

Alaska Legislature The Alaska State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is a bicameral institution consisting of the 40-member Alaska House of Representatives (lower house) and the 20-member Alaska Senate (upper house). There a ...

*
Benjamin Nageak
at ''100 Years of Alaska's Legislature'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Nageak, Benjamin 1950 births 20th-century Alaska Native people 20th-century Inuit people 20th-century Native American politicians 20th-century mayors of places in Alaska 21st-century Alaska Native people 21st-century Inuit people 21st-century members of the Alaska Legislature 21st-century Native American politicians Borough assembly members in Alaska Inuit politicians Inupiat people Living people Mayors of places in Alaska Democratic Party members of the Alaska House of Representatives Native American mayors in Alaska Native American state legislators in Alaska People from North Slope Borough, Alaska