Byron Mallott

Byron Ivar Mallott (April 6, 1943 – May 8, 2020) was an American politician, elder, tribal activist, and business executive from the state of Alaska.

Mallott was an Alaska Native leader of Tlingit heritage and the leader of the Kwaash Ké Kwaan clan.

Mallott was born on April 6, 1943, in Yakutat in the Territory of Alaska, to Jay B. Mallott and Emma M. Brown.

Mallott was an Alaskan Native of the Tlingit tribe.

His Tlingit name was Dux̱ da neiḵ, K'oo del ta', which means "'a person who would lead us into the future'".

Mallott's father established a general store in a spare room of the family home in 1946.

Mallott spent most of his childhood living in Yakutat.

At age 13, Mallott began attending Pius X Mission, a Catholic boarding school located in Skagway, Alaska.

He graduated from Sheldon Jackson High School and studied for several years at Western Washington State College in Bellingham, Washington.

Mallott's political career began in 1965 when his father, who served as Yakutat's mayor for the vast majority of the position's existence, died.

He left college and returned to Yakutat, running to replace him, and won the election.

He left office before the expiration of his term, taking a job in the office of Governor Bill Egan towards the end of Egan's first governorship.

His job in the governor's office was focused on local government affairs, one of the few constitutionally mandated executive functions in Alaska.

Mallott was the first Commissioner of the Department of Community and Regional Affairs.

After Egan was defeated for re-election by Walter Hickel in 1966, Mallott returned to Yakutat and served on the city council.

In 1968, Mallott received the Democratic nomination for the 5th district in the Alaska House of Representatives.

In the general election he was narrowly defeated by Henry E. Reeves by twenty-three votes.

Mallott posted the $250 for a recount, but the vote total remained the same.

In 1969, Senator Mike Gravel appointed him to serve as a special assistant.

Mallott became chairman of Alaska's Reapportionment Board.

On September 5, 1980, he resigned from the board for personal reasons.

In 1982, Mallott was appointed to the board of trustees of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation by Governor Jay Hammond to replace Elmer Rasmuson.

In 1985, he was selected to serve as the chairman of the permanent fund; he later served as its executive director from 1995 to 2000.

Incumbent mayor Jamie Parsons declined to seek re-election in 1994 after one term in office.

On August 16, 1994, Mallott announced that he would run in Juneau's mayoral election.

He was elected mayor of Juneau in that municipality's 1994 general election.

He resigned from office after he was selected to serve as the executive director of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation.

Mallott faced harsh criticism when he initially announced that he could handle serving in both positions, leading to changing his mind and resigning the mayoral position.

Mallott was succeeded as mayor by deputy mayor Dennis Egan.

Mallott announced on September 2, 2013 that he was running for the Democratic nomination for governor of Alaska in the 2014 election.

Mallott was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Alaska in 2014, until he agreed to merge his campaign with that of independent candidate Bill Walker and become Walker's running mate.

Walker and Mallott won the election and were sworn in on December 1, 2014.

He won the Democratic gubernatorial primary with 80% of the vote on August 19, 2014.

Independent candidate Bill Walker and Mallott merged their campaigns on September 2 to appear on the November ballot as one independent campaign, which the Alaska Democratic Party endorsed.

On this ticket, Walker ran for governor with Mallott as his running mate.

Both candidates' respective prior running mates withdrew.

They won the election on November 4, 2014, as there was a recount due to a close election result.

He was the 12th lieutenant governor of Alaska from December 2014 until his resignation on October 16, 2018.

He also previously served as the mayor of Yakutat, the mayor of Juneau, the president of the Alaska Federation of Natives and the executive director of the Alaska Permanent Fund.

In 2018, Mallott abruptly resigned after it was discovered he made inappropriate overtures to a woman.