Robin L. Taylor (born February 5, 1943) is a lawyer 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 has also served as a judge, government administrator and Republican Party politician. It is in this latter capacity that he is best known. Taylor served in 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 ...

from 1985 to 2003. Running for

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 ...

in 1998 in a

blanket primary The blanket primary is a system used for selecting political party candidates in a Partisan primary, primary election, used in Argentina and historically in the United States. In a blanket primary, voters may pick one candidate for each office wit ...

, Taylor was outpolled by John Lindauer for the Republican nomination. When questions arose over the source of Lindauer's campaign monies, Taylor reemerged as a

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 ...

for the office backed by the Republican Party of Alaska, who had disowned Lindauer. While Taylor outpolled Lindauer in the general election, both candidacies fell far behind that of incumbent Tony Knowles, who was elected to a second term.

Early life

Robin L. Taylor was born in Sedro Woolley,

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

on February 5, 1943. Taylor moved to

Ketchikan, Alaska Ketchikan ( ; ) is a city in and the borough seat of the Ketchikan Gateway Borough on Revillagigedo Island of Alaska. It is the state's southeasternmost major settlement. Downtown Ketchikan is a National Historic Landmark District. With a p ...

in 1961 and later began college studies, earning a B.A. from the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

in 1965, an M.A. from the

Oregon College of Education Western Oregon University (WOU) is a public university in Monmouth, Oregon, United States. It was originally established in 1856 by Disciples of Christ pioneers as Monmouth University. Subsequent names included Oregon State Normal School, Orego ...

in 1966 and a J.D. from

Willamette University Willamette University is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college with locations in Salem, Oregon, Salem and Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest college in the Western United ...

in 196

Taylor served on the Ketchikan city council and

Ketchikan Gateway Borough Ketchikan Gateway Borough is a borough located in the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2020 census its population was 13,948, up from 13,477 in 2010. The borough seat is Ketchikan. The borough is the second most populous borough in Southeast Al ...

assembly from 1973 to 1976, including as vice-mayor of the city from 1974 to 1975. Taylor was appointed to a Wrangell-based judgeship of the Alaska District Court by governor

Jay Hammond Jay Sterner Hammond (July 21, 1922 – August 2, 2005) was an American politician of the Republican Party, who served as the fourth governor of Alaska from 1974 to 1982. Hammond was born in Troy, New York and served as a Marine Corps fighter pi ...

on December 23, 1976, besting one other applicant. He subsequently moved to Wrangell, where he resides today. Taylor served as a district judge in Alaska from 1977 to 1982, a representative in the

Alaska State 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 are 4 ...

from 1984 to 1992, and as a senator in the Alaska State Legislature from 1992 to 199

1998 gubernatorial campaign

In 1998, Democratic Party (United States), Democratic incumbent

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 ...

Tony Knowles ran for re-election against newspaper publisher

John Howard Lindauer John Howard Lindauer II (born November 20, 1937) is an American economist who served as chancellor for the University of Alaska Anchorage from 1976 to 1978 then was Dean of the School of Business and Public Affairs. He was the Republican Party (Un ...

, the Republican nominee. Controversy surrounding Lindauer's misrepresentation of information in campaign finance documents, his strong anti-

gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Not ...

stances, and whether he met the residency requirements caused his campaign to nearly collapse. One week before the election, Taylor announced that he was launching a

write-in campaign 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 ...

as an alternative Republican candidate for governor. Taylor split the Republican vote with Lindauer, earning 18.26% to his 17.86%. Knowles was re-elected in a landslide.

Later career

He was also appointed deputy commissioner of the

Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities The Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (Alaska DOT&PF) is a department within the government of Alaska. Its headquarters are in Alaska's capital city, Juneau. The mission of Alaska DOT&PF is to "''Keep Alaska Moving through ...

by then-Governor of Alaska

Frank H. Murkowski Frank Hughes Murkowski (born March 28, 1933) is an American politician. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as a United States Senate, United States Senator representing Alaska from 1981 to 2002 and as t ...

and served until Alaska Governor

Sarah Palin Sarah Louise Palin (; Heath; born February 11, 1964) is an American politician, commentator, and author who served as the ninth governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009. She was the 2008 Republican vice presidential nomi ...

decided to replace him with Dennis L. Hardy in February 200

External links

Robin Taylor
at ''100 Years of Alaska's Legislature'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Robin L. 1943 births Alaska city council members Alaska state court judges Republican Party Alaska state senators Living people Republican Party members of the Alaska House of Representatives Politicians from Ketchikan, Alaska People from Sedro-Woolley, Washington People from Wrangell, Alaska University of Washington alumni Western Oregon University alumni Willamette University College of Law alumni 20th-century members of the Alaska Legislature 21st-century members of the Alaska Legislature