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Western Alaska's Representation In The Alaska House Rests On A Single Race

Jeremy Hsieh
/
KTOO

The outcome of the Alaska House of Representatives' power structure appears to hang on one vote. Also at stake is the role that Tiffany Zulkosky, who represents most of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta in House District 38, will have in the new House organization.

At the end of the vote count over the weekend, the Alaska Division of Elections certified the election on Tuesday with a tie in the race for House District 1 in Fairbanks. Republican Bart LeBon and Democrat Kathryn Dodge both had a total of 2,661 votes, but there was one final vote discovered this weekend which could swing the election to Dodge. However, there are questions surrounding the legality of that vote and a recount is expected to be completed by Friday. KYUK’s Krysti Shallenberger reached Andrew Kitchenman, the political reporter for KTOO and Alaska Public Media, to get a better understanding of the forces at play as lawmakers attempt to organize a new majority in the Alaska House. The interview has been condensed and edited. 

Krysti Shallenberger: So Andrew [Kitchenman], could you provide some context into how the power has shifted in in the legislature this past general election?

Andrew Kitchenman: It’s a very complicated situation right now in the House because if [Kathryn]Dodge is elected we have a 20-20 House. You need 21 votes to organize a majority, so there’ll be a lot of horse trading and negotiation to see if the current majority, which is mostly Democratic and includes [Tiffany] Zulkosky, can entice the current minority Republicans to move over. Now if [Bart] LeBon wins, I think it’s relatively safe to say that there will be a predominately Republican majority, though its exact composition isn’t known.

One thing that’s complicated that is that David Eastman [R-Wasilla], who prefers not to tie himself to binding votes, which is a concept that... that members who agree to join the majority caucus agree to vote on major budget bills and the speaker candidate of that caucus. Eastman basically prefers to basically stick to his principles above any binding vote. At least that’s how he acted in his first legislature these past two years.

So if it’s only a 21-vote majority, it won’t be the most stable majority because of its reliance on Eastman. If it’s a Republican majority, Tiffany [Zulkosky] won’t likely be included in it. So again, and perhaps more strikingly, the 21 Republican members, including LeBon, who would make up a Republican majority would not include any from rural Alaska or anyone from Southeast Alaska, which often forms an alliance with Northern and Western Alaska on issues that affect the coast.

Shallenberger: So the Republicans... while their control over the House is up in the air, they’ve taken control of the governor’s seat and apparently the Senate. What does this mean for the top issues of the state? I’m going to guess the PFD, education, and healthcare?

Kitchenman: I would say they are all top priorities on Dunleavy, but it remains to be seen how his approach on policy will mesh with the priorities of Western Alaska and Southwest Alaska.

Shallenberger: Do you have any final thoughts on what the outcome of these races look like and how they will affect legislation and the priorities of rural Alaska?

Kitchenman: In the House, I don’t know if the one vote margin is going to be upheld. If it goes back to a tied vote, it will likely determine by, and I certainly won’t speculate on that, whether it will be heads or tails, but that will be an important thing to watch and that could determine who controls the House.