Mike Shower, senator designee for District E seat

GOVERNOR ENDS SUSPENSE, PICKS PILOT

Gov. Bill Walker has chosen Mike Shower to fill the Senate E seat vacated by Sen. Mike Dunleavy, who is running for governor.

Shower is a United States Air Force retired pilot who now flies for FedEx. He was among the original applicants to the Senate Seat E position.

“I am deeply appreciative that Gov. Walker has appointed a new senator from the list of nominees submitted by the Alaska Republican Party,” said ARP Chairman Tuckerman Babcock. “I have no reservations about Mike Shower and expect he will be confirmed, although that is a decision that is up to the Republican members of the State Senate,” said Tuckerman Babcock.

Shower was educated at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado. He flew F-15Cs and F-22s, and was a pilot instructor between 1990 and 2010 and retired as a lieutenant colonel.

After his military service, he transferred to civilian work in support of the U.S. and allied air forces, providing training to aircrews before starting as a pilot for Delta and then FedEx in 2012.

Shower was among four names given to the governor by party members in District E, which stretches from Wasilla to Valdez and wraps around to Whittier. His name was offered in the second round, after Walker tangled with the District in the first round of nominations.

His nomination must be confirmed by sitting Republicans in the Alaska Senate, who are meeting today to discuss his nomination.

“I would like to express my gratitude to Republican leaders in District 10 for nominating me to serve the great people of Alaska in Senate District E,” Shower said in a statement. “I am also deeply honored by my appointment to that seat by Governor Walker. I look forward to to speaking with Senate leadership and to the Senate’s consideration of my appointment.”

Married with three children, Shower and his family moved from Eagle River to Wasilla, District 10, in 2010. He has a son who is a retired U.S. Marine, a daughter who is married to an Army veteran, and a 17-year-old son who graduates from high school in a few months. He and his wife are grandparents of one.