Donna Gilbert, who was elected to the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly and later to the Fairbanks City Council, has died. She was one of the most well-known Fairbanks advocates for the tax cap, and was honored on Monday evening at the Borough Assembly.
Raised in Fairbanks, Gilbert was known for ending her tax cap advocacy voicemails with, “Meet you at the borough building.” She served on borough Assembly from 1989-1992 and then on the city council from 2001-2004.
She formed Interior Taxpayers Association and advocated or passage of the borough tax cap. The group she built is still active today and recently activated to defeat a ballot effort in Fairbanks to blow through the tax cap. She also managed the Ranch Motel until it closed in 2013 and she moved to Leesburg, Florida.
Her sister relayed that Donna died in her sleep; she was 80 years old.
Watch as she advocates for a tax cap in this video from a candidate forum in 2007:
