Fran Ulmer
Encyclopedia
Frances Ann "Fran" Ulmer (born February 1, 1947) is an administrator and Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 politician from the U.S. state of Alaska. She is currently the chancellor of the University of Alaska Anchorage
University of Alaska Anchorage
The University of Alaska Anchorage is the largest school of the University of Alaska System, with about 16,500 students, about 14,000 of whom attend classes at Goose Lake, its main campus in Anchorage....

. Prior to that, she served as Lieutenant Governor of Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

 from 1994 to 2002 under governor Tony Knowles
Tony Knowles (politician)
Anthony Carroll Knowles is an American Democratic politician and businessman who served as the seventh Governor of Alaska from December 1994 to December 2002. Barred from seeking a third consecutive term as governor in 2002, he ran unsuccessfully for Senate in 2004 and again for governor in...

, becoming the first female elected to statewide office in Alaska.

Ulmer was born in Madison, Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....

 and grew up in Horicon, Wisconsin
Horicon, Wisconsin
Horicon is a city in Dodge County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 3,775 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Horicon is located at . The city of Horicon is located at the southernmost tip of the Horicon Marsh...

 to a couple who owned the only funeral home
Funeral home
A funeral home, funeral parlor or mortuary, is a business that provides burial and funeral services for the deceased and their families. These services may include aprepared wake and funeral, and the provision of a chapel for the funeral....

 in the area. Her education included a bachelor's degree in economics and political science and culminated in a law degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...

.

Ulmer worked with Jay Hammond
Jay Hammond
Jay Sterner Hammond was an American politician of the Republican Party, who served as the fourth Governor of Alaska from 1974 to 1982.-Early life:...

, the Republican governor from 1975 through 1981. She served as mayor of Juneau from 1983 to 1985 and in the Alaska House of Representatives
Alaska House of Representatives
The Alaska House of Representatives is the lower house in the Alaska 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 about 15,673 people . Members serve two-year terms without term limits...

 from 1987 to 1994 as a Democrat.

From 1993 to 1994 she served as the House Minority Leader.

From 1994 to 2002 she served as Lieutenant Governor under Governor Tony Knowles
Tony Knowles (politician)
Anthony Carroll Knowles is an American Democratic politician and businessman who served as the seventh Governor of Alaska from December 1994 to December 2002. Barred from seeking a third consecutive term as governor in 2002, he ran unsuccessfully for Senate in 2004 and again for governor in...

 (D).

In 2002, she was nominated by the Democratic party for the office of governor. She lost the election
Alaska gubernatorial election, 2002
The 2002 Alaska gubernatorial election took place on 5 November 2002 for the post of Governor of Alaska. Republican US Senator Frank Murkowski defeated Democratic Lieutenant Governor Fran Ulmer. Murkowski became the first Republican elected governor of Alaska since Jay Hammond in...

 to the Republican candidate, U.S. Senator Frank Murkowski
Frank Murkowski
Francis Hughes Murkowski is an American politician and a member of the Republican Party. He was a United States Senator from Alaska from 1981 until 2002 and the eighth Governor of Alaska from 2002 until 2006.- Early life and career :...

.

In 2004, she accepted a teaching
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...

 job at the University of Alaska ending speculation of her candidacy for governor in 2006.

In March 2007, University of Alaska President Mark Hamilton appointed Fran Ulmer as the University of Alaska Anchorage
University of Alaska Anchorage
The University of Alaska Anchorage is the largest school of the University of Alaska System, with about 16,500 students, about 14,000 of whom attend classes at Goose Lake, its main campus in Anchorage....

 interim chancellor. In April 2008, Ulmer accepted the position of Chancellor on a permanent basis. On January 22, 2010, Ulmer announced her intent to resign from the Chancellor position at the University of Alaska Anchorage effective in 2011.

In June 2010, President Obama appointed Fran Ulmer to the seven member National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling. The commission is charged with investigating the causes of the explosion and oil spill, and recommending changes to prevent future disasters. Fran Ulmer will serve on this voluntary commission and retain her duties as chancellor of UAA until her retirement in June 2011.

Political Experience

Ulmer spent 30 years in public service at the local, state and national level. She served in elective office for eighteen years, as the Mayor of Juneau, as a state representative and as Lieutenant Governor of Alaska, where she became a nationally recognized leader in election reform (Alaska became the first state to replace the punched card system with an optical scanning ballot counting system) and making government more efficient and accessible through telecommunications. As a legislator she sponsored and obtained passage of legislation concerning criminal justice, education, public administration, health, transportation and other areas. In her final term she served as House Minority Leader. She served as Director of Policy Development for the State of Alaska, managing diverse programs, including coastal management, intergovernmental coordination, and public participation initiatives. At the national level, Ulmer served as a member of the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission, the Federal Communications Commission’s State and Local Advisory Committee, and the Federal Elections Commissions Committee. She earned a J.D. cum laude from the University of Wisconsin Law School
University of Wisconsin Law School
The University of Wisconsin Law School is the professional school for the study of law at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in Madison, Wisconsin. The law school was founded in 1868.-Facilities:...

.

Electoral history

  • Alaska House of Representatives, District 4, Seat B, 1986
    • Fran Ulmer (D), 7,957 (66.5%)
    • Leslie E. "Red" Swanson (R), 3,928 (32.8%)
    • write-in votes, 64 (0.5%)

  • Alaska House of Representatives, District 4, Seat B, 1988
    • Fran Ulmer (D), 6,916 (57.6%)
    • Paul Fletcher (R), 5,060 (42.1%)
    • write-in votes, 21 (0.1%)

  • Alaska House of Representatives, District 4, Seat B, 1990
    • Fran Ulmer (D), 8,564 (70.3%)
    • Cathy Crawford (R), 3,555 (29.1%)
    • write-in votes, 60 (0.4%)

  • Alaska House of Representatives, District 3, 1992
    • Fran Ulmer (D), 5,210 (69.8%)
    • Dale Anderson (R), 2,233 (29.9%)
    • write-in votes, 19 (0.2%)

  • Alaska lieutenant governor primary, 1994
    • Jack Alleman (A), 2,173 (3.6%)
    • Roger Lewis (G), 3,570 (5.8%)
    • Bill Sabo (D), 5,771 (9.4%)
    • Tom Staudenmaier (A), 2,831 (4.6%)
    • Fran Ulmer (D), 40,442 (66.1%)
    • Margaret Ward (A), 6,356 (10.4%)

  • Alaska gubernatorial election, 2002
    Alaska gubernatorial election, 2002
    The 2002 Alaska gubernatorial election took place on 5 November 2002 for the post of Governor of Alaska. Republican US Senator Frank Murkowski defeated Democratic Lieutenant Governor Fran Ulmer. Murkowski became the first Republican elected governor of Alaska since Jay Hammond in...

    • Frank Murkowski
      Frank Murkowski
      Francis Hughes Murkowski is an American politician and a member of the Republican Party. He was a United States Senator from Alaska from 1981 until 2002 and the eighth Governor of Alaska from 2002 until 2006.- Early life and career :...

       (R), 129,279 (55.85%)
    • Fran Ulmer (D), 94,216 (40.70%)
    • Diane E. Benson
      Diane E. Benson
      Diane E. Benson is an Alaskan politician, inspirational speaker, video production consultant, published writer and dramatist. In August 2010, she became the Democratic candidate for Lt. Governor for the state of Alaska, easily outpacing three other opponents in the Democratic primary on August...

      (G), 2,926 (1.26%)
    • Don Wright (A), 2,926 (0.94%)
    • Raymond VinZant (RM), 1,506 (0.65%)
    • Billy Toien (L), 1,109 (0.48%)
    • Write-ins, 263 (0.11%)
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