Arliss Sturgulewski, former Alaska senator, dies at 94
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Longtime Alaska politician Arliss Sturgulewski, a former state senator, died on Thursday. She was 94 years old.
Both Gov. Mike Dunleavy and Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson announced her death in prepared statements on Thursday, and they ordered state and municipal flags, respectively, to fly at half-staff at a date still to be determined, in her honor.
Sturgulewski made history as the first woman in Alaska to head a major party ticket in a gubernatorial campaign. She ran as a Republican candidate for governor in 1986, and though she lost, she remained active in Alaska politics.
From serving on the Anchorage Assembly and the Anchorage Charter Commission, Sturgulewski went on to represent Anchorage in the Alaska Senate from 1979-1993. She was inducted into the Alaska Women’s Hall of Fame in 2009.
“Arliss lived a long life and served this state and its largest city at important historical junctures,” Dunleavy said in a statement Thursday. “Her commitment to building a civic-minded Alaska will be remembered.”
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