Matt Claman Politician

Matthew W. "Matt" Claman (born 1959) is a former member of the Anchorage Assembly. In this position, he served as acting mayor of Anchorage, Alaska for the first half of 2009. He succeeded Mark Begich, who was elected to represent Alaska in the U.S. Senate in the 2008 general election. Claman served on the Anchorage Assembly since 2007 and became its chair in 2008, enabling him to assume the post of mayor as provided by the city charter. Claman was a candidate for mayor in the April 7, 2009 election. He lost a re-election bid in 2010 to Ernie Hall, a businessman who was the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor of Alaska in 2002.