Alex Ortiz, formerly chief of staff and longtime aide to the late Republican Congressman Don Young, has been pushed aside by Rep. Mary Peltola, after serving as her chief of staff since she was elected in September to finish Congressman Young’s term.
The official story is that Ortiz, raised in Ketchikan, is going to start a career in government relations and will assist Peltola as her campaign representative in Southeast Alaska, as well as doing outreach to Republicans on her behalf.
In his place, Peltola’s former campaign manager, Anton McParland, will be chief of staff when Ortiz leaves next week. He now serves as deputy chief of staff and is a Democrat.
The process of rotating Republicans out of her office comes as Peltola has gotten criticism from Democrats for hiring Ortiz as her chief of staff. Other Republicans she hired were Josh Wilson, who was her interim communications director, and Josh Revak, who is her stateside director. All are Republicans. Wilson exited in January, and now Ortiz is out, leaving just Revak as the last Republican on her staff.
McParland has a background as a union operative for Service Employees International Union and the National Education Association of Oregon, Illinois, and Virginia. Although he is not an Alaskan, he moved to the state to work on Peltola’s campaign last year and became her deputy chief of staff in January. He has brought a strong union messaging strategy to her office.
Ortiz was quoted in a statement saying, “The office is in good hands with a strong staff that is ready to serve Alaskans, just like Congressman Young’s team did. I am ready to pursue a new career in government relations and continue to build Republican support for Mary’s Pro-Fish, Pro-Family, Pro-Freedom, and Pro-Jobs agenda in 2024 and beyond.”
