Mike Navarre (born June 9, 1956) is an American businessman and politician who formerly served as mayor of

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 ...

Kenai Peninsula Borough Kenai Peninsula Borough is a borough of the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,799, up from 55,400 in 2010. The borough seat is Soldotna, the largest city is Kenai, and the most populated community is the censu ...

and as a 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 ...

Biography

Mike Navarre was born on June 9, 1956, in

Lansing, Michigan Lansing () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Michigan. The most populous city in Ingham County, Michigan, Ingham County, parts of the city extend into Eaton County, Michigan, Eaton County and nort ...

, one of eleven children (seven sons and four daughters) of George A. Navarre (1923–2009) and his wife Rose (née Doogan). The family moved to

Kenai, Alaska Kenai (, ; Dena'ina: ; , ''Kenay'') is a city in the Kenai Peninsula Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. By road, it is 158 miles southwest of Anchorage. The population was 7,424 as of the 2020 census, up from 7,100 in 2010, the fiftee ...

, when he was an infant, where they established themselves in the business community. At first, the family opened up a grocery store, then branched out into an auto service business and fast food franchising, both of which currently operate locations across Alaska. He dropped out of college in the 1970s and moved to

Fairbanks, Alaska Fairbanks is a Municipal home rule, home rule city and the county seat, borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, United States. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior Alaska, interior region of Alaska and the second la ...

, moving back to Kenai in 1978. Navarre later returned to college and graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts 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 deg ...

in Government from

Eastern Washington University Eastern Washington University (EWU) is a public university in Cheney, Washington, United States. It shares its satellite campus in Spokane, Washington with Washington State University. Founded in 1882, the university is academically divided in ...

in 1983. Navarre was first elected to the state House as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

in 1984, and served until 1996, representing District 5 (holding Seat A) from 1985 to 1993 and District 9 from 1993 to 1996. He chaired the House Finance Committee for several years and was Majority Leader from 1989 until 1991. In 1996, Navarre successfully ran for mayor of Kenai Peninsula Borough, before being defeated by Dale Bagley in 1999. He once again ran in 2011, and was reelected in 2014. During his first term as mayor, he served as president of the Alaska Conference of Mayors. In October 2017, while the election to replace Navarre had gone to a runoff, he was appointed by

Bill Walker Bill Walker may refer to: Australian rules football * Bill A. Walker (1886–1934), Australian rules footballer for Essendon * Bill Walker (Australian footballer, born 1883) (1883–1971), Australian rules footballer for Fitzroy * Bill J. V. Walke ...

, then-

governor of Alaska A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

, to head the

Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development The Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development (DCCED) is a department within the government of Alaska. The department contains the Control Office (AMCO). It conducts board certification of physicians and nurses, and is ...

. The appointment came about when the department's commissioner Chris Hladick was appointed by

Scott Pruitt Edward Scott Pruitt (born May 9, 1968) is an American attorney, lobbyist and Republican Party (United States), Republican politician from the state of Oklahoma. He served as the 14th Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) f ...

, the administrator of the

Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Protection Agency may refer to the following government organizations: * Environmental Protection Agency (Queensland), Australia * Environmental Protection Agency (Ghana) * Environmental Protection Agency (Ireland) * Environmenta ...

, to become the agency's Region 10 director. His successor Charlie Pierce took office as mayor on November 5; Navarre spent several days coordinating the transition with Pierce before starting his new job. Navarre serves on the Kenai Chamber of Commerce, North Peninsula Chamber of Commerce, and Peninsula Petroleum Club. He is also a member of the Municipal Advisory Gas Project Review Board, as well as the board of the Rasmuson Foundation.

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Navarre, Mike 1956 births 20th-century mayors of places in Alaska 21st-century mayors of places in Alaska Eastern Washington University alumni Living people Mayors of places in Alaska Democratic Party members of the Alaska House of Representatives People from Kenai, Alaska Politicians from Fairbanks, Alaska Politicians from Lansing, Michigan State cabinet secretaries of Alaska 20th-century members of the Alaska Legislature