Juanita Helms
Juanita Helms | |
|---|---|
Helms in her high school yearbook (1959) | |
| Member of the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly from Seat H | |
| In office 1980–1985 | |
| Preceded by | Bill Stringer |
| Succeeded by | Lute Cunningham |
| Mayor of Fairbanks North Star Borough | |
| In office 1985–1981 | |
| Preceded by | Bill Allen |
| Succeeded by | Jim Sampson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Juanita Lou Lauesen August 3, 1941 Chicago, Illinois, US |
| Died | November 7, 2009 (aged 68) Fairbanks, Alaska |
| Spouse |
Orville R. Helms
(m. 1962–2009) |
| Children | 4 |
| Relatives | Harriet Drummond (sister-in-law) |
Juanita Lou Helms (née Lauesen; August 3, 1941 - November 7, 2009) was an American politician who served as a member of the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly for five years, and then as the first female borough mayor of Fairbanks from 1985 to 1991. During Helms's first term as mayor, she and her administration were criticized for violating borough finance laws with an investment, but was re-elected. Helms worked to establish Fairbanks' ties with the international community through sister city agreements both during and after her tenure as mayor. She was inducted into the Alaska Women's Hall of Fame, and the Juanita Helms Administrative Center in Fairbanks is named after her.