{{Short description|American civil servant, politician and businessman}} {{Use mdy dates|date=August 2019}} {{Infobox officeholder |name = Jamie Parsons |office = Mayor of Juneau, Alaska |term_start = October 1991 |term_end = October 4, 1994 |predecessor = Bruce Botelho |successor = Byron Mallott |deputy = Dennis Egan<ref name=ktoo/> |birth_name = James McClary Parsons |birth_date = 1941 |birth_place = Sherbrooke, Quebec |death_date = December 26, 2015 (aged 74) |death_place = Mercer Island, Washington |party = |spouse = Mary Beth Parsons |children = |alma_mater = }}
'''James McClary Parsons''' (1941 – December 26, 2015) was an American civil servant, politician and businessman who served as the Mayor of Juneau, Alaska, from 1991 until 1994. Parsons originally moved to Juneau in 1972 to become the city's first Director of Parks and Recreation.<ref name=ktoo/> He served on the Assembly of the City and Borough of Juneau, Alaska, during the 1980s before being elected mayor in 1991.<ref name=ktoo>{{cite news|first=Lisa|last=Phu|title=Former Juneau mayor, capital city advocate Jamie Parsons dies at 74 |url=http://www.ktoo.org/2015/12/29/juneau-advocate-jamie-parsons-dies-at-age-74/ |publisher=KTOO-TV |date=December 29, 2015 |accessdate=3 January 2016}}</ref><ref name=jempire>{{cite news|first=Paula Ann|last=Solis |title=Jamie Parsons: Remembered for 'shaping' the Capital City |url=http://juneauempire.com/local/2015-12-31/jamie-parsons-remembered-shaping-capital-city |work=Juneau Empire |date=December 31, 2015 |accessdate=3 January 2016}}</ref> Parsons declined to seek re-election for a second term, Instead, Parsons devoted his attention to the defeat of a 1994 statewide ballot initiative, which would have moved the Alaskan state capital from Juneau to Wasilla.<ref name=ktoo/><ref name=jempire/> He has been widely credited with the rejection of the proposal by voters.<ref name=jempire/>
==Biography== In 1972, Parsons moved to Juneau from Kent, Washington, to become the first Director of Parks and Recreation.<ref name=ktoo/><ref name=jempire/><ref name=jempire3>{{cite news |first=Tony |last=Carroll |title=Back in the Swing: Former mayor returns to softball diamond after battling cancer |url=http://juneauempire.com/stories/063005/loc_20050630019.shtml |work=Juneau Empire |date=June 30, 2005 |accessdate=3 January 2016 |archive-date=December 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151203015703/http://juneauempire.com/stories/063005/loc_20050630019.shtml |url-status=dead }}</ref> He then worked for the city as a civil servant in various roles throughout the 1970s.<ref name=jempire/> Parsons then served on the Assembly of the City and Borough of Juneau, from 1981 until 1989.<ref name=jempire3/>
Parsons was elected Mayor of Juneau on October 2, 1991, with 64% of the vote.<ref name=jempire/>
Parsons also spearheaded a campaign to form an informal committee to improve the quality of life in Juneau.<ref name=jempire/> The committee, which became known as the Alaska Committee, was created in 1994.<ref name=jempire/> He later served as its chairman.<ref name=ktoo/>
He declined to seek a second term in 1994. Instead, Parsons focused on the defeat of a 1994 ballot initiative, which would have moved the state capital from Juneau to Wasilla, in Southcentral Alaska. Parsons campaigned statewide against the initiative. He traveled throughout Southeast Alaska to encourage the high voter turnout needed to defeat the measure.<ref name=jempire/> Parsons has been credited with defeating the proposed move to Wasilla, which voters rejected by a margin of 116,277 (54.7%) to 96,398 (45.3%).<ref name=ktoo/><ref name=jempire/><ref>{{cite web|accessdate=September 9, 2008|url=http://www.elections.alaska.gov/result94.htm#bal3|title=Alaska's 1994 General Election Results Summary|publisher=Alaska Division of Elections, State of Alaska |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080801054315/http://www.elections.alaska.gov/result94.htm#bal3 <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = August 1, 2008}}</ref> According to Christopher Clark, who worked for Parsons as his Anchorage field coordinator against the 1994 initiative, "He helped organize it. He'd go out door-to-door. He'd give speeches. He'd talk to editorial board meetings. He’d go to newspaper interviews. And it all worked. Jamie was with me in Anchorage on the night of the election returns and we were jubilant. We once again had dodged a bullet and managed to keep the capital here in Juneau and Jamie deserves a lot of the credit for that."<ref name=ktoo/>
Parsons proposed an idea to televise live coverage of the Alaska Legislature, similar to C-SPAN.<ref name=ktoo/> His proposal developed into "Gavel to Gavel Alaska," which originally aired on KTOO-TV.<ref name=ktoo/>
Parsons also served as the CEO of the Juneau Chamber of Commerce from 2001 to 2003.<ref name=ktoo/><ref name=jempire4>{{cite news |first=Christine |last=Schmid |title=Chamber chief heading to Cairo |url=http://juneauempire.com/stories/063005/loc_20050630019.shtml |work=Juneau Empire |date=February 23, 2003 |accessdate=3 January 2016 |archive-date=December 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151203015703/http://juneauempire.com/stories/063005/loc_20050630019.shtml |url-status=dead }}</ref> He departed in Chamber in 2003 after his wife, a retired elementary school teacher, accepted a two-year teaching position at the Cairo American College.<ref name=jempire4/>
In 2000, Parsons attempted to reclaim his former job as Mayor of Juneau.<ref name=jempire2>{{cite news |first=Fernand |last=Chandonnet |title=Smith edges past Parsons: Mayor's race won by 209 votes |url=http://juneauempire.com/stories/100400/Loc_Smith.html |work=Juneau Empire |date=October 4, 2000 |accessdate=3 January 2016 |archive-date=December 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151203041411/http://juneauempire.com/stories/100400/Loc_Smith.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> On October 3, 2000, Parsons was narrowly defeated in the general election by Sally Smith by just 209 votes.<ref name=jempire2/> Smith received 4,820 votes, while Parsons garnered 4,611 votes.<ref name=jempire2/>
Jamie Parsons battled multiple myeloma, a form of cancer, for more than 10 years, following a diagnosis in 2005.<ref name=jempire/><ref name=jempire3/> He died from the disease at his home in Mercer Island, Washington, where he had been undergoing treatment, on December 26, 2015, at the age of 74.<ref name=jempire/> He was survived by his wife, Mary Beth Parsons, and three children, Rob, Sara and Andrew. His memorial service was scheduled to be held at Centennial Hall in Juneau on July 16, 2016.<ref name=jempire/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{s-start}} {{s-off}} {{s-bef|before=Bruce Botelho}} {{s-ttl|title=Mayor of Juneau|years=1991–1994}} {{s-aft|after=Byron Mallott}} {{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parsons, Jamie}} Category:1941 births Category:2015 deaths Category:20th-century mayors of places in Alaska Category:Deaths from multiple myeloma in Washington (state) Category:Alaska city council members Category:American civil servants Category:American women civil servants Category:American expatriates in Egypt Category:Anglophone Quebec people Category:Borough assembly members in Alaska Category:Mayors of Juneau, Alaska Category:People from Kent, Washington Category:People from Mercer Island, Washington Category:Politicians from Sherbrooke Category:University of Washington alumni Category:Western Washington University alumni