Peter Torkelson has accepted the position of executive director of the Alaska Redistricting Board.
Redistricting takes place every 10 years after the U.S. Census and is the exercise to redraw political districts. The person who serves as director is at the heart of what becomes a heated political battle over power lines involving House districts.
The Alaska Redistricting Board is comprised of Chairman John Binkley, Melanie Bahnke, Nicole Borromeo, Bethany Marcum, and Budd Simpson.
The executive director works under the direction of the chair to plan, supervise and coordinate the redistricting of the election boundaries. The work involves public hearings, press relations, incorporating public testimony into a final report, and a final report that must be defended when it is litigated, which nearly always occurs during redistricting.
Torkelson, a nonpartisan, is employed by the Alaska Legislature as an aide to the Senate Republican Majority and is usually in a below-the-radar political functionary. In his new role, he’ll be a lot more high profile.