On the same day Alaskans voted for Donald Trump to bring a new look to the American presidency, they also voted for a new look in the Alaska Legislature.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday afternoon, residents of the 49th state kicked the tires as Rep. Bryce Edgmon, D-Dillingham, announced the creation of a coalition majority in the Alaska House of Representatives.<\/p>\n
On the same day, the Alaska Senate announced that Sen. Pete Kelly, R-Fairbanks, will be the new Senate President when the 30th Alaska Legislature opens in January.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re a caucus who\u2019s organized around the central purpose of tackling the fiscal crisis in the state of Alaska,\u201d said Edgmon, who will be the new Speaker of the House.<\/p>\n
Edgmon leads a majority that as of Wednesday includes two independents, three Republicans and 17 Democrats – among them Rep. Sam Kito III, D-Juneau and Rep. Justin Parish, D-Juneau.<\/p>\n
Rep. Chris Tuck, D-Anchorage, was the minority leader in the 29th Legislature and will be the majority leader in the 30th.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat you\u2019re going to see is us working very hard between now and January\u201d to develop a solution to the state\u2019s multibilllion-dollar budget deficit, Tuck said.<\/p>\n
Rep. Paul Seaton, R-Homer and finance committee co-chairman under the new majority, said the solution will include four principal components: budget cuts; using the earnings of the Permanent Fund to pay for a portion of government; a cap on the amount of the Permanent Fund Dividend; and \u201csome kind of broad-based tax, which every other state has determined is the way to go forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rep. Neal Foster, D-Nome, will be the other co-chairman of the finance committee.<\/p>\n
Twenty-one representatives are needed to form a majority, and in demonstration of the important role the three majority Republicans play in beating that hurdle, all have leadership roles.<\/p>\n
In addition to Seaton, Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux will be chairwoman of the rules committee and Rep. Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, will be House majority whip.<\/p>\n
Soon after their roles were announced, the chairman of the Alaska Republican Party Tuckerman Babcock issued a scathing statement calling the three \u201cdeceitful Republicans\u201d and said they \u201cfailed to be honest with the voters\u201d during the most recent election.<\/p>\n
Asked about the risk of a primary election challenge in two years, LeDoux referred to the financial crisis and said, \u201cI\u2019m concerned with getting my job done this year, period.\u201d<\/p>\n
Full committee assignments have not been released, nor is it clear what the role of Juneau\u2019s two House members will be.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re working on committee chairmanships and committee memberships,\u201d said Kito by phone.<\/p>\n
When those have \u201cgelled,\u201d they will be released, he said.<\/p>\n
He said he knows people in Juneau might be disappointed by the results of the presidential election, but \u201cI think here in Alaska, we are a long way away from Washington, D.C.\u201d and he hopes there will not be any \u201clong-lasting impacts\u201d of Donald Trump becoming president.<\/p>\n
Kito had kind words for Parish, one of Alaska\u2019s newest lawmakers.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s nice to actually have him in the room,\u201d Kito said. \u201cHe\u2019s going around, he\u2019s doing a lot of networking now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kito, who not long ago was a freshman lawmaker himself, said he\u2019s advised Parish to take advantage of as much training as possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s already doing a great job of asking people questions and understanding what needs to be done,\u201d Kito said.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s Parish\u2019s biggest task?<\/p>\n
Studying, Parish said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t expecting anything; I was focused on finishing my race,\u201d Parish said by phone.<\/p>\n
Now that Southeast Alaska has four members in the House majority, it can be a little optimistic with regard to the state\u2019s budget situation.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a good conversation with a member of the governor\u2019s staff, and I look forward to meeting with more of my peers both in the House and the other branches of government, and I believe that by working together in good faith, we can meaningfully address the crisis our state is in, and I think that we can work toward real solutions,\u201d Parish said.<\/p>\n
In the Senate, new president Kelly said the majority there – similar to the majority of the last Legislature – can work with the new group in charge of the House.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll be able to work with them,\u201d he said, but predicted progress won\u2019t be easy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know that it\u2019s going to be much different from last year,\u201d he said. \u201cThey were terribly divided, and it make it pretty difficult to move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the Senate and the House might disagree on how to solve the fiscal crisis, \u201cbut at least we\u2019ve figured out the problem, and I think we\u2019ve got a lot of people who are thinking about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked to give advice to Juneau residents who might be nervous about the presidential election and the new-look Legislature, Kelly had a simple idea.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would encourage them to stop thinking about politics for a while and take a break,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The 30th Alaska Legislature will convene on Jan. 17 in Juneau.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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