Karl Kassel


Karl W. Kassel is an Independent politician and presently the Mayor of Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, beginning his three-year term in October 2015. He was formerly a retired businessman and government administrator.

Biography

Karl W. Kassel was born in 1952 in New York City. After graduating from the State University of New York at Brockport with a degree in physical education and a minor in recreation, he moved to Alaska.
Kassel lives "off-the-grid" in a rural corner of the FNSB near the former Murphy Dome Air Force Station. His house, built in 2009 and occupied by Kassel and his family beginning early the following year, was noted for a combination of window placement, solar panels and a heat exchange system, which resulted in little usage of fossil fuel oils to heat the home.
Kassel has traded on the similarity of his name to that of the NPR broadcaster Carl Kasell. He has participated in fundraising efforts for public radio station KUAC where he offers to record an answering machine or voice mail greeting, similar to the prize offered on Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! where Kasell records such a greeting.

Political career

2008: Campaign for state house

Kassel was unchallenged in the primary and received 1,844 votes. His Republican opponent was Mike Kelly. He lost the election receiving 5,020 votes as opposed to 5,024 for Kelly, a difference of only four votes.
In 2008, following his retirement as parks and recreation director for the Fairbanks North Star Borough, Kassel ran for the Alaska House of Representatives from the 7th District, which covers most of the FNSB north of the city of Fairbanks. As the Democratic nominee challenging embattled Republican incumbent Mike Kelly, a bitterly fought campaign led to a close result and a recount of votes. In the end, Kelly would outpoll Kassel by only 4 votes.

2010-present: Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly

Kassel defeated incumbent Guy Sattley, who had served five mostly non-consecutive terms on the body starting in 1990, to claim Seat I. Seat I is a three-year term.
In 2012, Kassel was elected by his fellow Assembly members to serve as the body's presiding officer for the following year.