10 Things You Didn't Know About Mark Begich
Begich is the junior senator from Alaska
1. Mark Begich was born in Anchorage, Alaska, on March 30, 1962.
2. His parents, Nick and Pegge, were both teachers and were originally from Minnesota. They moved to Alaska, then a territory, in 1957.
3. His father was elected to Congress in 1970 and died in a plane crash Oct. 16, 1972, along with House Majority Leader Hale Boggs and two others. Despite an extensive search of the area in Alaska, no sign of the wreckage was ever found.
4. As a result of the crash, Congress required that all small private and commercial planes be equipped with an Emergency Locator Transmitter.
5. Pegge ran for her husband's congressional seat twice in the 1980s but lost both times to her husband's successor, Republican Rep. Don Young.
6. Mark Begich got his first business license at 14. He has made and sold jewelry, opened a teen club (when he was 16), and run his family's real estate business.
7. He was elected to the Anchorage Assembly (city council) at age 26 and served almost 10 years.
8. He was elected mayor of Anchorage in 2003, the first mayor born and raised in Anchorage.
9. He is the only U.S. senator without a college degree.
10. Mark Begich is married to Deborah Bonito, a small-business owner and former chair of the state Democratic Party. They have a young son, Jacob.
Sources:
- Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- United Press International
- St. Cloud ( Minn. ) Times
- Newsday
- Chronicle of Higher Education
- Mark Begich for U.S. Senate
- Anchorage Daily News
- New York Times
Reader Comments
Mark Begich and Politicians Like him need to Go!
Mark Begich and Politicians Like him need to Go! I agree 100% Our system is brooken, We need term limit's so corrupt Bastards like this don't become career crooks.
more things you didn't know
Under his mayoral leadership, the Begich administration as falsified and destroyed public records, lied to federal investigations, corrupted investigations, intimidated witnesses, falsified municipal investigations, tampered with evidence, betrayed oaths of office (countless times), denied others their constitutional rights (countless times), corrupted Internal Audit reports, knowingly and intentionally continued felonious crimes, committed perjury, received and given bribes, and on, and on, and on...
His administration committed countless crimes against the public with collusion, coercion, and extortion, including the Municipal Manager, Municipal Attorney, Director of Employee Relations, Director of Internal Audit, etc., all of whom are his mayoral appointees.
In less than 6 years as mayor, the municipal budget was increased by 55%. His campaign for the senate included claims of having increased jobs and eliminated the debt when in reality, he devastated our city and left us with a huge deficit.
Hopefully, Begich will be the next Alaskan politician prosecuted for corruption. If he isn't, it won't because of a lack of evidence, lack of culpability, or my lack of effort.
Something else you didn't know
He has left his city in debt with deals he made behind the Assembly. Did not fully inform or allow them access to the important documents. He has also made multiple deals with past business partners while mayor of Anchorage that have benefited him personally. In addition, he has been accused, and found guilty, of doing the same misdeeds as the Senator he replaced.
advertisement
