Alaska Republicans to lose House majority to coalition

With 99.55 percent of precincts reporting in the state, it appears the Alaska House Majority will be in new hands at the start of the January session.

Numerically speaking, a majority of House seats were retained by Republicans, the inclusion of three of these in a bipartisan caucus was announced the day after the election. For the first time in decades this will shift the chamber over to a Democrat-led majority. Seventeen Democrats and two independent representatives bring their total number to 22.

Among those joining this new majority will be District 36 Rep. Dan Ortiz (I-Ketchikan), who won reelection to his second term November 8 with a 52 percent of the vote. Republican challenger Bob Sivertsen had accumulated 42 percent of the vote.

One of the primary distinctions between the two candidates during the campaign had been how they would caucus, and whether that would present voters in southern Southeast with greater influence on legislative decision making. Sivertsen had promised to join the Republicans' existing majority, while Ortiz had presented the possibility of a bipartisan caucus forming.

Ortiz noted the new majority would largely be made up of representatives from rural and coastal communities.

While Rep. Chris Tuck (D-Anchorage) has been named the majority's leader, its speaker will be Rep. Bryce Edgmon (D-Dillingham). Co-chairs of the House Finance Committee will be Reps. Paul Seaton (R-Homer) and Neal Foster (D-Nome), and Ortiz confirmed on Friday he will also have a seat on the committee.

"There alone, with the leadership of this bipartisan coalition, we will be much more centered toward rural interests than the previous leadership was," he noted.

"This bipartisan majority should be much more friendly towards coastal and Southeast interests. But it's going to be tough, because there's not money. It's not like we're going to be able to throw a lot of capital project money to Southeast or any other part of the state. But with that said, I think we're committed to maintaining what most people feel are essential services in the state: public safety, education, funding for seniors."

He explained the

unifying idea behind the coalition will be a willingness to finally tackle the state's deficit spending, which this present year will top $3,100,000,000 and if left unchecked would drain the Constitutional Budget Reserve. Over the campaign, Ortiz had been critical of the previous session's majority, which he contended had not done enough with increasing revenue sources to reduce deficit spending.

"The main thing is, to be a part of this majority you have to be committed to a fiscal plan, and putting the state on a fiscal path to sustainability. So we're excited about that common bond, that desire to do that," Ortiz said.

Looking ahead, he was

hopeful there would be enough common ground for legislators to find a solution to the

present budget crisis. The coalition caucus will have to. While it holds a slight majority

it will need the support of Republican minority members to adopt a budget, and will have to work with the Alaska Senate, whose majority has been retained by Republican lawmakers.

"Most everybody serving in public office starts with the fundamental goal of doing what's in the best interest of the state and doing what's in the best interest for all Alaskans. I think that's an automatic common ground that's there, and hopefully we'll be able to find a lot of places where we can work with the minority and work in the best interests in the state of Alaska."

In past general election

years, certifiable results have not been available until the end of November or beginning of December. A total of

255,699 votes were cast in 2016, representing just over 48 percent of those registered. This is a drop over previous presidential elections, when nearly 60 percent voted in 2012 and over 66 percent did so in 2008.

Voting results, side by side

Wrangell High School student Draven Golding and two other classmates last week polled classmates on Election Day, setting up booths and counting out ballots the next day.

Beyond a higher turnout rate at 63 percent, what they found was that high school and middle school students vote remarkably similar to their parents, though one major difference was students' choice of Alaska House representative. Here is a side-by-side comparison of the their mock vote, compared with the most up-to-date results at the local, regional and state-wide levels, according to Division of Elections tallies.

 

Reader Comments(0)