Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced Tuesday that for the next 20 days, he will accept applications for the House District 40 seat in the Alaska Legislature made available upon the resignation of Rep. Josiah Patkotak of Utqiaġvik (Barrow), who is the newly elected mayor of the North Slope Borough.
All applicants must be living in District 40 and be at least 21 years old to receive consideration.
Patkotak was not aligned with either Republican or Democrat parties, but was an undeclared member of the Legislature. That means the normal consultation process with the party of the departing legislator can be skipped, and the governor will decided without the help of the precinct and district party leaders.
HD-40 covers the farthest north region of the state, stretching from the Kotzebue area north to Wainwright, Utqiagvik, Prudhoe Bay and Kaktovik before ending at the Canadian border. Josiah Patkotak who represented district 40 as an independent, resigned today. He was elected mayor of the North Slope Borough during the election earlier this month.
By law, within 30 days, the Governor shall appoint a qualified person to fill a vacancy.
Residents of House District 40 have until Tuesday, October 31 to submit an application. To apply visit https://gov.alaska.gov.
