John Howard Lindauer

Republican candidate for governor of Alaska in 1998

What is John Howard Lindauer known for?

John Howard Lindauer is a notable alumnus of North High School, Phoenix, Arizona. Born on November 20, 1937 in Montclair, New Jersey, Lindauer went on to have an extensive career in both academia and politics. He served in the United States Army for three years and spent five years in the Army Reserve.

As an academic, Lindauer spent two years as an assistant professor of economics at Occidental College before moving to Claremont McKenna College and the Claremont Graduate School, where he taught as an associate and full professor from 1966 to 1974. In 1976, he moved to Alaska, serving as the chancellor for the University of Alaska Anchorage until 1978 before becoming the Dean of the School of Business and Public Affairs.

Transitioning into politics, Lindauer served as one of the state commissioners for the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System and later worked at the Alaska Post-Secondary Education Commission. He was also a co-publisher of Alaska Rural Newspapers, which published ten different newspapers. In addition, Lindauer was the builder and president of Denali Broadcasting and the Alaska Radio Network, which owns five radio stations.

In 1982, Lindauer won a seat for District 10B in the Alaska House of Representatives, and he was a member of the House Finance Committee. He was initially a member of the Alaskans for Independence party, attempting a run for Governor of Alaska in 1990 but withdrew due to his wife's illness. He later joined the Republican Party and won the party's primary for the Alaskan governor's race in 1998.

However, his 1998 campaign ran into controversy when it was revealed that nearly the entire $1.7 million spent on his campaign was not his own money, but that of his wife. Lindauer pleaded no contest to campaign finance violations, receiving a one-year suspended sentence, 100 hours of community service, two years of probation, and a $15,000 fine. After his sentence, he moved back to Chicago.

Beyond his political and academic achievements, Lindauer is also the father of Susan Lindauer and John Howard Lindauer III. He attended Arizona State University, where he received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, and later Oklahoma State University, where he earned a Ph.D. in economics.