Former Sen. Jerry Mackie and longtime political professional Michael Pawlowski have formed a new lobbying and strategy group.
Pawlowski is coming back to Alaska after having served as chief of staff for Sen. Lisa Murkowski for five years. The announcement was made today by Murkowski to her staff during their Monday staff meeting.
Mackie was born and raised in Ketchikan and raised in Craig, and is a Haida Alaska Native. At the age of 27, was elected to the Alaska State House in 1990 and the Alaska State Senate in 1996, the only known person in U.S. history to serve as both the Democratic leader of the House and the Republican leader of the Senate.
His connection to the Alaska Native community was an asset as an elected official, and as a lobbyist for Alaska’s Native entities.
He has been a registered lobbyist since 2002, representing a wide range of clients including Alaska Native corporations, medical and health, housing, transportation, tourism, telecommunications and resource development entities.
Pawlowski, whose nickname is “Fish,” grew up in West Anchorage, the fifth generation in his family to live in Alaska. His deep connection to the state and devotion to public service have helped him navigate many of the challenges Alaska has faced over the last 20 years. Working for numerous elected officials at the state and federal level, he has experience on issues from renewable energy policy to traditional resource development and from fiscal policy to healthcare.
Starting in 2003, Pawlowski spent the better part of a decade as an aide to three different Alaska legislators, working on everything from budgets to energy policy and other initiatives.
In 2012, he joined Gov. Parnell’s administration to develop a new approach for the reform of the oil and gas production tax. He became the Deputy Commissioner of Revenue in 2013 and was one of the architects and lead negotiators for the enabling legislation and commercial agreements that established the Alaska LNG Project.
He also served on the Board of the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority and as staff with the Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority.
In 2015 he began as Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s Senior Policy Advisor on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. There he worked to develop policies to support the development of the Keystone Pipeline, promote offshore oil and gas development and other vital energy-related issues.
Must Read Alaska has learned that the new business entity, called Strategy North Group, will be assisting Sen. Lisa Murkowski in her run for reelection in 2022 and will be actively lobbying for clients in Juneau.
There’s no word on who will be the next Murkowski chief of staff.
