David Warren Cuddy (born September 16, 1952) is a businessman and Republican Party politician from the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

. He served a single term in 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 ...

from 1981 to 1983. David Warren Cuddy was born in

Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the List of cities in Alaska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of ...

to Daniel Hon "Dan" and Betty Jane "Betti" (née Puckett) Cuddy. He was named after his uncle (and Dan Cuddy's only sibling), who died in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in 1944. Growing up in Anchorage (where he has lived for most of his life), he graduated from

West Anchorage High School West Anchorage High School (formerly Anchorage High School) is a public high school in Anchorage, Alaska. The school is part of the Anchorage School District (ASD). Opened in 1953, West is the oldest of ASD's eight major high schools. Serving th ...

in 1970, and went on to earn a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

from

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

in 1974. Cuddy joined the business operated by his family, First National Bank of Anchorage (now called

First National Bank Alaska First National Bank Alaska is an American bank founded in 1922 by Winfield Ervin Sr., as The First National Bank of Anchorage. The first branch stood on the corner of 4th and G Streets in Anchorage, Alaska. History The bank was founded in 1922 ...

) in 1972, working his way up from teller to

loan officer Loan officers evaluate, authorize, or recommend approval of loan applications for people and businesses. Most loan officers are employed by commercial banks, credit unions, mortgage companies, and related financial institutions. Mortgage loan off ...

, and eventually vice-president at the time he left the bank. Cuddy was elected to a single term in the

in 1980. A combination of

redistricting Redistricting in the United States is the process of drawing electoral district boundaries. For the United States House of Representatives, and state legislatures, redistricting occurs after each ten-year census. The U.S. Constitution in Art ...

and pressure from

Dick Randolph Richard L. Randolph (born April 10, 1936) is a longtime insurance agency owner in Fairbanks, Alaska who is best known as the first person to be elected to partisan office under the banner of the Libertarian Party with his election to the Alaska ...

to defect to the Libertarian Party played heavily in his decision not to run for re-election. In 1996 and 2008, Cuddy unsuccessfully challenged

Ted Stevens Theodore Fulton Stevens Sr. (November 18, 1923 – August 9, 2010) was an American politician and lawyer who served as a United States Senate, U.S. Senator from Alaska from 1968 to 2009. He was the longest-serving Republican Party (United St ...

in the Alaska Republican U.S. Senate primary. Cuddy lists his occupation as an independent film producer. In 2001, he worked for a California-based entertainment firm as a business consultant to independent filmmakers, and left them in 2003. While acting as executive producer on the film ''Light in the Forest'', he met Austin-based screenwriter Bonnie Orr, and in 2007 he began construction of a film studio in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

References

External links

Dave Cuddy for U.S. Senate
official campaign website
David Cuddy
at ''100 Years of Alaska's Legislature'' 1952 births American bankers Businesspeople from Anchorage, Alaska Duke University Trinity College of Arts and Sciences alumni Living people Republican Party members of the Alaska House of Representatives Politicians from Anchorage, Alaska Candidates in the 2024 United States House of Representatives elections 20th-century members of the Alaska Legislature {{US-film-producer-stub

See also

References

External links