Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy was sworn in for a second term on Monday, saying his goal is to “work with everybody to create an Alaska for the next 50 years.”<\/p>\n
The Republican last month became the first Alaska governor since Democrat Tony Knowles in 1998 to win back-to-back terms. Dunleavy won the ranked vote governor’s election with more than 50% of first-choice votes. His challengers were Democrat Les Gara, a former state lawmaker; independent former Gov. Bill Walker; and Republican Charlie Pierce, a former borough mayor who was sued in October by a woman who said he sexually harassed her.<\/p>\n
The swearing-in ceremony for Dunleavy and Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom was held at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage. Kevin Meyer, a Republican, was lieutenant governor during Dunleavy’s first term but did not run this year. Dahlstrom, a former state lawmaker, oversaw the state corrections system during most of Dunleavy’s first term, before becoming his running mate earlier this year.<\/p>\n
There was much less drama around Monday’s swearing in than there was in 2018, when Dunleavy first took office. Four years ago, he was sworn into office in a school gym in the western city of Kotzebue after poor weather forced a change in plans the morning of the ceremony; he had planned to be sworn in in the tiny community of Noorvik, where his wife, Rose, is from. He went to Noorvik later that day for a celebration.<\/p>\n
He also took office in 2018 days after a magnitude 7.1 earthquake rocked Anchorage and parts of south-central Alaska.<\/p>\n
“There’s been some moments the past four years that I’m sure that some people were saying to themselves, ‘What’s next? Locusts, volcanoes?’” Dunleavy said, adding later: “With your help over the past four years, we’ve gotten through some difficult times.”<\/p>\n
His first term in office was at times tumultuous, marked early on by tensions with lawmakers and a recall effort fueled by public anger over vetoes and proposed budget cuts. Supporters of the recall effort abandoned their push last year, with the gubernatorial election looming.<\/p>\n
Dunleavy also presided over the state’s COVID-19 pandemic response.<\/p>\n
During his speech Monday, he did not delve into specifics about his agenda for his new term but sounded a positive tone.<\/p>\n
“I’m going to work with everybody and anybody. I’ll be working across the aisle with individuals,” Dunleavy said.<\/p>\n
He is due to deliver a proposed budget by mid-month. The next legislative session begins in January.<\/p>\n
One of the big unresolved issues that will face lawmakers will be how to address the yearly dividend paid to residents from Alaska’s oil-wealth fund, the Alaska Permanent Fund. A longstanding formula for dividends was last used in 2015, and policymakers have not settled on a new one, instead setting the amount each year. That approach has contributed to at-times drawn-out or divisive sessions.<\/p>\n
Residents this year received payments of $3,284, a combination of a dividend and one-time energy relief payment that lawmakers approved when oil prices were in the $115-per-barrel range. North Slope oil prices more recently have been under $90 a barrel.<\/p>\n
Under the state constitution, a governor’s term begins at noon on the first Monday in December after the election. Jeff Turner, a Dunleavy spokesperson, said scheduling issues prevented Monday’s ceremony from beginning at noon; it started instead at 1 p.m. Turner said the oaths of office were signed around 11:30 a.m.<\/p>\n
There was a ceremonial signing of oaths during the event, he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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