Wasilla Republican Rep. Cathy Tilton has been elected Speaker of the House. It appears to be the 19 Republicans and most of the rural Bush caucus will be in the Republican-led caucus, but it’s unclear who is going to be included the caucus.
The vote was 26-14 on Wednesday morning, with all Republicans and some no-party members voting for Tilton.
Anchorage Rep. Cal Schrage, a no-party member, and Rep. Rebecca Himshoot, a no-party member but liberal from Sitka, voted against her, while Rep. Daniel Ortiz of Ketchikan voted for Tilton, along with Josiah Patkotak of Utqiagvik. Both Ortiz and Patkotak are not aligned with a party.
Also voting for Tilton was former Speaker Louise Stutes, a Republican and Rep. Bryce Edgmon, who is considered a Democrat, although has no party.
Four others were nominated: Former Speaker Stutes, Nikiski’s Ben Carpenter, Soldotna’s Justin Ruffridge, and Dillingham’s Edgmon. Edgmon and Carpenter declined their nominations. Ruffridge, a Republican of Soldotna who made a play for the job of Speaker Pro Tem, was nominated by hard-left Zack Fields of Anchorage, who appeared to want to drive home the knife and cause chaos in the Republican caucus by aligning Ruffridge with the Democrats.
Northway-Tok’s Mike Cronk made the motion for Tilton, and she was the only nominee voted on.
“I am honored to be selected as the Speaker of the House,” Tilton said. “I am excited to start working with all the members of the House to ensure the people of Alaska are represented. I am humbled by the faith my colleagues have in me and will embrace this leadership role with humility and greatly appreciate the opportunity to lead the House of Representatives.”
The Alaska House Republican Caucus pledges to lead this body with efficiency and civility so that the people of Alaska are once again confident in the leadership, she said.
The House gaveled out so that Tilton and others can now figure out who is in and out of the majority caucus. Then, the Committee on Committees can start making assignments.
Tilton has represented Wasilla and until recently a portion of Chugiak-Peters Creek in the Anchorage Borough since 2015. She was a legislative aide before she ran for office.
The state with the smallest population in the country has made a biggie-sized statement on electric vehicles. A handful of lawmakers are saying, “Keep your electric vehicles in California, thanks.”
In the Wyoming State Senate, a resolution to phase out and ban electric vehicle sales is, on the surface, a defense of the state’s economy, which is largely based on oil, gas and nearly three heads of cattle per every human in the state.
Wyoming is populated by folks who don’t usually believe in meddling in free markets. As the most Republican state in the nation, a homeland for free thinkers, oil workers, and pickup-driving ranchers, SJ0004is a resolution that seems at odds with the libertarian mindset of so many Wyomingites.
So what gives, Wyoming? Why so skeptical of electric vehicles? Why not embrace this great new electric future?
The resolution is a public policy directive, to be sure, and a warning shot over the bow that the state doesn’t have the infrastructure for EVs and doesn’t intend to at any time soon. The text says that by 2035, no more sales of these vehicles would be allowed in the Cowboy State.
This is also a dollop of legislative theater, pushback against the environmental movement’s intent to end oil and gas production in America. The resolution is a way of getting a few inconvenient facts noticed by the public, at the state and national level. It starts a conversation about whether Wyoming would even survive as an economy if there was no market for its oil and gas.
There are but 59 charging stations in the entire state of Wyoming, which has 211,000 registered vehicles, most of them gas- or diesel-powered trucks. This is a working-class economy that does not lend itself to a Chevy Volt (charging time 4-13 hours).
From border to border on I-80, Wyoming is a more than 400-mile trip, which an EV cannot typically make on one charge. The State would need to install at least 40 charging stations for every 1,000 vehicles, and that’s under the best conditions. A place like Wyoming, with long lonely stretches of highway, is looking at a buildout of more than 8,000 charging stations.
Wyoming drivers, a smart and practical type of American, have already figured this out. There are only about 500 registered electric vehicles in the state, and none is located on a desolate stretch outside of Arminto, population 5.
What the eco-dedicated lawmakers of California and New York don’t grasp is that northern states, with long stretches of wilderness and lonely highways, have another electric vehicle challenge: Battery life. The batteries in these cars drain faster when it’s cold out, and getting stranded by a dead vehicle is a life-threatening scenario in places like Wyoming, Montana, the Dakotas, and Alaska.
Last year, a group of electric car enthusiasts drove to Deadhorse, Alaska to prove that electric cars could go the distance. In advance, they sent diesel-powered trucks ahead to install portable charging stations along the Dalton Highway, so the cars could stop and recharge. They succeeded in making the 1,000-mile journey from Fairbanks, but they also proved that the use of electric cars in the Arctic are impractical and, to Alaskans, just plain silly. The electric vehicles made the trip in summer, but in winter, the batteries, car heaters and window defrosters would drain power at a much faster rate. Besides, no one drives the Dalton Highway in a compact sedan. This is truck country.
Also last year, the capital city of Alaska decided to buy an all-electric bus. The bus never was able to go the distance and is considered by some to be a boondoggle in this small city that has some of the mildest winter weather in Alaska.
Juneau’s electric bus was promoted as capable of going 210 miles before needing a charge, enough to get through a 10-hour shift. But even in the mild summer weather – in the 50s and 60s — it only made it 170 miles. In winter, the bus could not even go 100 miles without needing more juice.
Wyoming’s climate is unforgiving. The disposal of these problematic cars is a landfill nightmare. The minerals needed to build them come from China. The senators know that.
Environmentalists aren’t interested in these inconvenient truths; for them, it’s full-speed ahead for all-electric. And so, Wyoming lawmakers have disrupted the narrative. Looking ahead, this might even see it as a warning shot to those who might attempt to outlaw cattle ranching by regulating 1.2-million gaseous Wyoming cattle out of existence. This EV ban isn’t Wyoming’s first, and won’t be its last rodeo with the forces against American energy independence.
Last year the number of threat investigations by the United States Capitol Police had decreased since reaching a high of 9,625 in 2021, the year President Joe Biden took office, but the caseload remains historically high, the agency reported.
In 2022, the Capitol Police’s Threat Assessment Section investigated a total of 7,501 cases, including investigations into concerning statements and direct threats. That’s a 22% decrease from 2021.
“The threats against Members of Congress are still too high,” said U.S. Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger. “This has resulted in a necessary expansion of, not only our investigative capabilities, but our protection responsibilities as well. While that work is ongoing, everyone continuing to decrease violent political rhetoric across the country is the best way to keep everyone safe.”
The threat case numbers for the last five years:
7,501 in 2022
9,625 in 2021
8,613 in 2020
6,955 in 2019
5,206 in 2018
3,939 in 2017
“Overall, during the last couple of decades the Threat Assessment Section’s caseload has increased because people on social media have a false sense of anonymity and feel more emboldened,” said Dr. Mario Scalora, the U.S. Capitol Police’s consulting psychologist. “This is not a problem we can only arrest our way out of.”
All members of Congress receive threats and concerning statements. The number of threats against both parties are similar.
In 2021, the Capitol Police opened field offices to swiftly deal with threats in California and Florida, where the department has the most threats against members of both parties. These new field agents are not investigating cases related to the Jan. 6, 2021 surge into the U.S. Capitol by protesters.
On Tuesday afternoon, Alaska State Troopers received a report of a polar bear attack in Wales, a community on the Seward Peninsula in Alaska’s arctic northwest.
The bear had entered the community and chased several people, then attacked an adult woman and juvenile male. It was shot and killed by a local resident as it attacked the pair. Troopers and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game are working to travel to Wales as weather conditions allow.
Update: Both the woman and the boy were killed by the bear before it was put down.
Wales has about 150 residents and is located about 100 miles northwest of Nome.
Committee assignments in the Alaska Senate were released Tuesday, after the Alaska Legislature gaveled in for the first time this year, and Democrats should be happy.
In half of the committees, Democrats outnumber Republicans, 3-2, even though Alaskans voted in a majority of Republicans in the Senate. The Senate is comprised of 11 Republicans and 9 Democrats, yet Democrats outnumber Republicans on five of the 10 committees, as three Republicans have been excommunicated from the bipartisan caucus, which is chaired by Republican Senate President Gary Stevens.
Here’s how the committee assignments shaped up, as assigned by the Committee on Committees, in the document signed by Sen. President Gary Stevens, Sen. Cathy Giessel, Sen. Click Bishop — all Republicans, and Sen. Lyman Hoffman and Sen. Bill Wielechowski — both Democrats:
Community and Regional Affairs: Democrats-3, Republicans-2
Dunbar, Olson, Gray-Jackson, Bjorkman, Giessel
Education:Democrats-3, Republicans-2
Tobin, Stevens, Bjorkman, Kiehl, Gray-Jackson
Finance:Democrats-3, Republicans-4
Stedman, Hoffman, Olson, Bishop, Merrick, Kiehl, Wilson
Health and Social Services:Democrats-2, Republicans-3
Sen. Dan Sullivan visited Alaska-based troops in the Middle East in recent days, as part of a bipartisan congressional delegation to a handful of Middle East countries that were part of apeace accord brokered by the former President Donald Trump.
Sullivan and the other senators visited Bahrain, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Morocco, as an effort to support full diplomatic relations between Middle Eastern countries, and in recognition of Israel as a sovereign country.
On the trip with Sullivan are Sens. Jacky Rosen of Nevada, James Lankford of Oklahoma Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Mark Kelly of Arizona, Michael Bennet of Colorado, and Ted Budd of North Carolina.
According to the Bahrain News Agency, His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa received the delegation at the Al-Safriya Palace on Sunday.
The delegation meets with the king of Bahrain and diplomatic team.
The Abraham Accord signatories pledged that they recognize the importance of maintaining and strengthening peace in the Middle East and around the world based on mutual understanding and coexistence, as well as respect for human dignity and freedom, including religious freedom.
“We encourage efforts to promote interfaith and intercultural dialogue to advance a culture of peace among the three Abrahamic religions and all humanity.
“We believe that the best way to address challenges is through cooperation and dialogue and that developing friendly relations among States advances the interests of lasting peace in the Middle East and around the world.
“We seek tolerance and respect for every person in order to make this world a place where all can enjoy a life of dignity and hope, no matter their race, faith or ethnicity.
“We support science, art, medicine, and commerce to inspire humankind, maximize human potential and bring nations closer together.
“We seek to end radicalization and conflict to provide all children a better future.
“We pursue a vision of peace, security, and prosperity in the Middle East and around the world.
“In this spirit, we warmly welcome and are encouraged by the progress already made in establishing diplomatic relations between Israel and its neighbors in the region under the principles of the Abraham Accords. We are encouraged by the ongoing effmis to consolidate and expand such friendly relations based on shared interests and a shared commitment to a better future.”
The accord was signed by then-President Donald Trump, King Hamad’s foreign minister, and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Word was all over the Alaska Capitol this week that the Soldotna Rep. Justin Ruffridge, a Republican who just took the oath of office, had made a deal with the Democrats to install him as Speaker Pro Tem. In fact, that rumor appears to be in the “correct” category.
No sooner had the Alaska House of Representatives been gaveled into order by Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, than hardline Democrat Rep. Andy Josephson of Anchorage nominated Ruffridge for the temporary position. There was an immediate at-ease.
In the end, on the nomination of Rep. Laddie Shaw of Anchorage, Rep. Josiah Patkotak won the election for speaker pro tem, 40-0, with even the ever-contrary Rep. David Eastman voting in favor of Patkotak. The Ruffridge nomination never even went to a vote — it was dead on arrival with Republicans.
Patkotak, of Utqiagvik, thanked God, and then thanked the lieutenant governor. “I am humbled and appreciate the support of you electing me to be temporary presiding officer,” he said. The House Democrats, Republicans, and no-party members must now haggle over who has the votes to become the permanent speaker for the next two years.
Of the three senators who were banished from the Alaska Senate majority caucus, only one of them was assigned to any Senate committee. Sen. Robert Myers of North Pole was assigned just to Transportation.
Neither Sen. Mike Shower or Sen. Shelley Hughes, both representing the Mat-Su Valley, were given committee assignments, although between Shower and Hughes, they represent over 70,000 people in Alaska who have no representation in the Senate, due to their lawmakers being banished. Adding in Sen. Myers, the number is over 110,000 Alaskans without a senator on committees.
The Senate majority is made up of nine Democrats and eight Republicans, with Shower, Hughes, and Myers not invited during organizational talks this fall. There is no actual minority in the Senate, since it takes five to make up a minority. Therefore the three who have been politically excommunicated have little to say about their exclusion.
The Senate leadership and committee assignments are:
Community & Regional Affairs: Sen. Forrest Dunbar (D-Anchorage) Education: Sen. Löki Tobin (D-Anchorage) Health & Social Services: Sen. David Wilson (R-Wasilla) Judiciary: Sen. Matt Claman (D-Anchorage) Labor & Commerce: Sen. Jesse Bjorkman (R-Nikiski) Resources: Co-Chairs – Sen. Click Bishop (R-Fairbanks) and Sen. Cathy Giessel (R-Anchorage) State Affairs: Sen. Scott Kawasaki (D-Fairbanks) Transportation: Sen. James Kaufman (R-Anchorage) Legislative Budget & Audit: Vice Chair – Sen. Bert Stedman (R-Sitka) Joint Armed Services: Co-Chair – Sen. Scott Kawasaki (D-Fairbanks)
Committee assignments:
Community and Regional Affairs: Dunbar, Olson, Gray-Jackson, Bjorkman, Giessel
Nineteen state senators were sworn into office by Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, who called the Senate to order at 1 pm and them up in groups of five. But when Dahlstrom called upon Sen. Mike Shower to join his group of five, he was nowhere to be found.
Must Read Alaska has learned that Shower had something come up in his personal life that made it impossible for him to come to Juneau.
The next order of business for the day was to elect a Senate President, which had already been done informally in private meetings before the session began. Sen. Gary Stevens of Kodiak returned to the podium once again in his long legislative career. He has served as Senate president from 2009 through 2012, when he led a Democrat-majority caucus of 10 Democrats and six Republicans. He now leads another Democrat-dominated caucus of nine Democrats and eight Republicans. Three Republicans were not asked to join the coalition — Shower, Sen. Shelley Hughes, and Sen. Robert Myers.
(Above, Sens. Kelly Merrick, Shelley Hughes, Bill Wielechowski, and David Wilson.)
