Editing Fairbanks, Alaska (section)

== Government ==

[[File:Fairbanks Alaska City Hall.jpg|thumb|Fairbanks' Patrick Cole City Hall, originally constructed in 1934 as a school building, replacing a wooden structure which burned down. Known colloquially as "Old Main", the building housed classrooms until the mid-1970s. [[Fairbanks North Star Borough School District]] administrative offices occupied the building until the city government took it over in 1995.]]

Fairbanks is a regional center for most departments of the state of Alaska, though the vast majority of state jobs are based in either Anchorage or Juneau.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://live.laborstats.alaska.gov/trends-articles/2016/02/government-jobs-vary-by-area | title=Government Jobs Vary by Area }}</ref>

The majority of Fairbanks is politically conservative, with three distinct geographical areas representing different political perspectives. The western part of the city, centered on the [[University of Alaska Fairbanks]], leans toward the Democratic Party. The downtown area and the eastern parts near [[Fort Wainwright]] lean slightly toward the Republican Party. The [[North Pole, Alaska|North Pole]] area farther east is heavily Republican and one of the most conservative parts of the state. Thus, many residents have noted that a neighborhood's position on the map of Fairbanks (west to east) mirrors its political orientation (left to right).<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-08-03 |title=NUMBER OF REGISTERED VOTERS BY PARTY WITHIN PRECINCT |url=https://www.elections.alaska.gov/statistics/2016/AUG/VOTERS%20BY%20PARTY%20AND%20PRECINCT.htm#number |website=State of Alaska}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2012-08-03 |title=Alaska Voter Registration by Party/Precinct |url=https://www.elections.alaska.gov/statistics/vi_vrs_stats_party_2012.08.03.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20240908030927/https://www.elections.alaska.gov/statistics/vi_vrs_stats_party_2012.08.03.htm |archive-date=2024-09-08 |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=State of Alaska}}</ref>

===Municipal===
{{further|List of mayors of Fairbanks, Alaska}}

==== City ====
Fairbanks, unlike other larger cities in Alaska, still has separate borough and city governments. The City of Fairbanks was incorporated on November 10, 1903.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=July 7, 2022 |title=BOROUGH FACTS, HISTORY & SEAL |url=https://www.fnsb.gov/456/Borough-Facts-History-Seal |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220708043014/https://www.fnsb.gov/456/Borough-Facts-History-Seal |archive-date=July 8, 2022 |access-date=July 7, 2022 |website=Fairbanks North Star Borough}}</ref>

==== Borough ====
The Fairbanks North Star Borough, created by the [[Alaska Legislature]] under the Mandatory Borough Act of 1963, was incorporated on January 1, 1964.<ref name=":0" />

===State===
{{multiple image
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| image1            = Constitutional Hall NRHP Fairbanks, AK.jpg
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| caption1          = [[Constitution Hall (University of Alaska Fairbanks)|Constitution Hall]] at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where the Alaskan Constitution was drafted in the winter of 1955 to 1956<ref name=NRHP>{{cite web|url={{NRHP url|id=05001196}}|title=NRHP nomination for Constitution Hall|publisher=National Park Service|accessdate=January 18, 2015}}</ref>
| image2            = Signers Hall.JPG
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| caption2          = Signers' Hall, also on the campus. The constitution was signed in this building on February 6, 1956.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Signers' Hall (UAF) {{!}} UA Journey |url=https://www.alaska.edu/uajourney/buildings/signers-hall-(uaf)/ |access-date=June 8, 2023 |website=www.alaska.edu}}</ref>
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At the state level, the city of Fairbanks is split between two state house districts: the 31st district, which includes the downtown area; and the 32nd district, which includes [[Fort Wainwright]] and western [[Badger, Alaska|Badger]]. The city is represented in the state senate by Democrat [[Scott Kawasaki]].<ref>''[https://www.elections.alaska.gov/doc/maps/area/2022-May-Interim-Fairbanks.pdf May 2022 Board Proclamation Fairbanks]'' (PDF) (Map). Alaska Redistricting Board. May 24, 2022. Retrieved April 21, 2023.</ref>

The Fairbanks North Star Borough comprises six house and three senate districts, with one house and senate districts not entirely within the boundary of the borough. The state senators for the borough are Democrat [[Scott Kawasaki]] and Republicans [[Robert Myers Jr.]] and [[Click Bishop]]. State house representatives are Democrats Maxine Dibert and Ashley Carrick, along with Republicans Will Stapp, Frank Tomaszewski, [[Mike Prax]], and [[Mike Cronk]].

Fairbanksans elected the first two [[Libertarian Party (United States)|Libertarian Party]] members to serve in a state legislature in the United States. [[Dick Randolph]], who had previously served two terms in the Alaska House as a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]], was first elected as a Libertarian in 1978 and re-elected in 1980. [[Ken Fanning]] was also elected to the House as a Libertarian in 1980. In the 1982 elections, Randolph ran unsuccessfully as the LP's nominee for Governor of Alaska, while Fanning lost re-election to the House to Democrat [[Niilo Koponen]], following redistricting.

Downtown Fairbanks also voted for Democrat [[Mark Begich]] in his campaigns for U.S. Senate and governor, and for independent [[Bill Walker (American politician)|Bill Walker]] as governor in 2014.

===Federal===
The district centered on downtown Fairbanks typically votes for Republican candidates for president, although Joe Biden nearly won it in 2020. The boundaries of the district have changed slightly in the elections listed here.

{| class="wikitable"  style="margin:auto;"
|+ Presidential election results for the City of Fairbanks (Central/Downtown) 2004–2020''
|- style="background:lightgrey;"
! Year
! Democratic
! [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
|-
| style="text-align:center; background:#fff3f3;" | ''[[2020 United States presidential election|2020]]''
| style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0ff;" | 47.2%
| style="text-align:center; background:#fff3f3;" | '''47.7%'''
|-
| style="text-align:center; background:#fff3f3;" | ''[[2016 United States presidential election|2016]]''
| style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0ff;" | 38.8%
| style="text-align:center; background:#fff3f3;" | '''47.9%'''
|-
| style="text-align:center; background:#fff3f3;" | ''[[2012 United States presidential election|2012]]''
| style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0ff;" | 42.2%
| style="text-align:center; background:#fff3f3;" | '''52.8%'''
|-
| style="text-align:center; background:#fff3f3;" | ''[[2008 United States presidential election|2008]]''
| style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0ff;" | 39.3%
| style="text-align:center; background:#fff3f3;" | '''58.0%'''
|-
| style="text-align:center; background:#fff3f3;" | ''[[2004 United States presidential election|2004]]''
| style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0ff;" | 35.2%
| style="text-align:center; background:#fff3f3;" | '''61.5%'''
|}