At least 10 lawmakers, many known statewide, will not seek re-election to the Alaska Legislature in 2022.
The deadline is Wednesday for candidates to file with the Alaska Division of Elections. Several incumbents already announced they will not run again.
Publicized departures of six Republicans and four Democrats leave nearly 17% of the seats wide open in the Alaska Legislature, the nation’s smallest bicameral Legislature.
The announced departures also show a disproportionately higher rate of women lawmakers choosing not to run again. Half of the 10 incumbents who’ve publicly disclosed they are not running are women. They include Anchorage Republican Sen. Natasha Von Imhof, Anchorage Democrat Rep. Ivy Spohnholz, Bethel Democrat Rep. Tiffany Zulkosky, Anchorage Republican Rep. Sara Rasmussen and Eagle River Republican Sen. Lora Reinbold.
Women make up nearly 30% of the Alaska Legislature in 2021-2022. Eighteen of the 60 lawmakers are women. But does gender really matter in politics, whether at the local, state or national level?
Rasmussen, for one, publicly lamented the loss of a diversity of views among the incumbents who’ve opted to step aside.
Other female politicians may step forward and win elections. Yet evidence supports her assertion.
Women are more likely than men to lead or carry bills important to families on issues that include education, child care and family health, according to research at Vanderbilt University. The Vanderbilt study showed that female lawmakers from parties not in power are more persistent than men. They are more often able to keep bills advancing through the legislative process than male counterparts from minority parties.
Women often are viewed as consensus-builders, rather than combative, and able to find common ground.
Possessing the ability to negotiate and make deals is an important skill in getting laws passed and policies adopted.
U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine have built national names as moderates adept at working both sides of the aisle to pass legislation.
Among state legislatures, Alaska ranks close to the middle of the pack in the percentage of elected female office holders, according to the Center for American Women in Politics at Rutgers University.
Alaska is 29th among the states. Nevada is the leader with nearly 60% of state lawmakers women, followed by Colorado (45%), Oregon (44.5%), Rhode Island (44%) and Maryland (43%).
Alaska Republican House Speaker Louise Stutes stands out as one of only six women nationwide to hold that leadership role.
Alaska is among the top five states with the most women legislators in leadership positions. In addition to Stutes, they include Senate Majority Leader Shelley Hughes and House Minority Leader Cathy Tilton.
Woman on the ticket in governor’s race
Electing women seems to matter to voters. Having a woman on the ticket factors into the Alaska governor’s race more than in past years.
Hence, women fill out tickets in the crowded field for Alaska governor.
Although there are no announced female candidates seeking Alaska’s highest state office, all of the lieutenant governor contenders are women, except for one.
Their accomplishments reflect the emphasis on running mates in the governor’s race.
Women running for lieutenant governor are listed here in alphabetical order, along with the gubernatorial candidates:
• Jessica Cook, with former lawmaker Les Gara, is a sixth-grade teacher, Public Health Education trustee and former vice president of the National Education Association-Alaska.
• Brittany Cottrell, with Jim Cottrell of Palmer, are a brother-sister team. She is a project engineer at ConocoPhillips, a position she has held for more than eight years.
• Nancy Dahlstrom, with Gov. Mike Dunleavy, stepped down leading the Alaska Department of Corrections to run in 2022. She is a former House lawmaker.
• Heidi Drygas, with former Gov. Bill Walker, is an attorney and former commissioner of the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, a position she held in the Walker administration.
• Edie Grunwald, with Kenai Peninsula Mayor Charlie Pierce, is a retired Air Force colonel who chaired the Alaska Parole Board.
• Tanye Lange, with business owner Bruce Walden, is a behavioral analyst from Kenai.
• Shirley Rainbolt, with entrepreneur Billy Toien, is a Libertarian Party activist.
Also running for lieutenant governor is innkeeper Paul Hueper with freshman Rep. Chris Kurka.
As the only male candidate seeking to be lieutenant governor, Hueper gained prominence after the FBI raided his home following the U.S. Capitol riots.
