Ken Lancaster

Ken Lancaster
Member of the Alaska House of Representatives
In office
January 8, 2001 – January 21, 2003
Preceded byGary Davis
Constituency8th district
Mayor of Soldotna, Alaska
In office
October 27, 1993 – December 27, 2001
Preceded byBill Reeder
Succeeded byDave Carey
Member of the Soldotna, Alaska city council
In office
1989–1993
Preceded byScott McLane
Succeeded byJim Stogsdill
Personal details
Born(1943-08-13)August 13, 1943
Anchorage, Alaska, U.S.
DiedSeptember 2, 2026(2026-09-02) (aged 83)
Soldotna, Alaska, U.S.
PartyRepublican
Spouse(s)Lani
Mavis Harlene Lancaster
Vickie Graham
Children8
Signature

Kenneth V. Lancaster Jr. (August 13, 1943 – September 2, 2026) was an American politician who served in the Alaska House of Representatives from 2001 to 2003, as a member of the Republican Party. He was active in the local politics of Soldotna, Alaska, where he served on the city council and as mayor.

Early life

Kenneth V. Lancaster Jr. was born in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 13, 1943. He lived in Anchorage until 1949, Cooper Landing from 1949 to 1962, and moved to Soldotna in 1962. He graduated from high school in Seward in 1961.

Lancaster was a member of the National Guard for ten years and worked as a real estate broker. He was a member of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

Career

Local politics

Lancaster was elected to the Soldotna city council after defeating incumbent Scott McLane in 1989, and faced no opposition in 1992. He ran for mayor in 1990, but lost to councilor Gary Davis. In 1993, Lancaster was selected by the city council to serve as vice mayor.

Lancaster ran for mayor of the Kenai Peninsula Borough in 2002, but lost to incumbent Dale Bagley. John Williams selected Lancaster to be the head of his transition team after being elected mayor of the Kenai Peninsula Borough. Lancaster served as president of the Kenai River Special Management Area board and the Soldotna chamber of commerce.

Mayoralty

Lancaster was elected mayor without opposition in 1993, and Jim Stogsdill was selected to fill Lancaster's vacant council seat. He was reelected without opposition in 1996 and 1999. Dave Carey won the 2001 mayoral special election to replace Lancaster, who resigned to take a seat in the Alaska House of Representatives.

Soldotna Airport saw its usage decline from the 1980s to the 1990s and cost Soldotna $160,000 per year. Soldotna was unable to find a bidder to take over operations of the airport in 1992, but Lancaster opposed closing it. He was appointed to the airport's commission in 1993.

A three-member delegation including Lancaster went to Sakhalin in 1994 as part of a fact-finding trip and to help prepare Russian officials for a visit to Alaska.

Rich Underkofler resigned as city manager in 1995, and Tom Boedeker was selected to replace him in 1996; Lancaster supported hiring a person from the area, as Boedeker was from the Kenai Peninsula, over other candidates from different areas. The position of maintenance superintendent was eliminated in 1996.

State politics

Gary Davis, a Republican member of the state house, declined to seek reelection in 2000. Lancaster was elected to the state house as a Republican. During his tenure he served on the Finance and Budget committees. He did not seek reelection in 2002.

Lancaster endorsed Democratic gubernatorial nominee Tony Knowles in the 1998 election. Andrew Halcro initially had Lancaster as his lieutenant gubernatorial running mate during the 2006 gubernatorial election, but Lancaster withdrew citing personal reasons. Fay Von Gemmingen was selected to replace Lancaster.

Political positions

Lancaster opposed placing a limit on property taxes. He opposed abortion rights. He proposed legislation to reduce the session time of the state legislature from 120 days to 90 days. Legislation proposed by Lancaster to expand the Kenai River Special Management Area by 8,000 acres was passed by the state house, but failed in the Alaska State Senate.

Lancaster opposed using money from the Alaska Permanent Fund to pay for the state budget. He cosponsored legislation in 2002 to use $59.3 million from the Alaska Permanet Fund to fund state assistance to local areas; the state budget had a deficit of $1.1 billion at the time.

Personal life

Lancaster married Lani, who later died. Mavis Harlene Lancaster, with whom he had eight children; Mavis died on November 15, 2018. He later married Vickie Graham. He died in Soldotna on September 2, 2026.

Electoral history

Electoral history of Kurt Wright
Year Office Party Primary General Result Ref.
Total % P. Total % P.
1990 Mayor of Soldotna, Alaska Nonpartisan No primary 210 32.01% 2nd Lost
1993 Mayor of Soldotna, Alaska Nonpartisan No primary 538 100.00% 1st Won
1996 Mayor of Soldotna, Alaska Nonpartisan No primary 532 100.00% 1st Won
1999 Mayor of Soldotna, Alaska Nonpartisan No primary 531 100.00% 1st Won
2000 Alaska House of Representatives (8th district) Republican 723 43.69% 1st 4,539 63.02% 1st Won
2002 Mayor of Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska Nonpartisan No primary 5,005 45.97% 1st Lost

References

Works cited

News

  • D'oro, Rachel (September 21, 2014). "Judge to move quickly on ballot lawsuit". Peninsula Clarion. Archived from the original on September 6, 2026.
  • Sorrell, Nick (September 5, 2026). "Former Soldotna Mayor and State Legislator Ken Lancaster Dies at 83". KKIS-FM. Archived from the original on September 6, 2026.

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