Rep. Tammie Wilson of North Pole has resigned from the House of Representatives.
Wilson made the announcement this afternoon on the House floor, saying that she has taken a job and would need to leave the Legislature to work at the Office of Children’s Services.
She serves House District 3, a conservative part of the state in the Fairbanks North Star Borough.
Rep. Steve Thompson of Fairbanks was among several representatives who lauded her: “Tammie you are going to be missed in this building, you really are going to be missed in this chamber. You’ve always worked for Fairbanks. You’ve always made sure everything is better for Alaska. You work harder than anyone in this building.”
Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux of Anchorage said, “No matter who it is or what happen caucus you were in at the time, Tammie always told it like it was. I don’t know what you’re going to do at OCS but it can’t help but be a better organization with you there.”
Wilson said that after 10 years of serving in the Legislature and focusing on children in Alaska in terms of policy, “I’m going to give 100 percent of what I have to make sure that we have better families, children are able to grow up where they need to, and when families just hit a bump in the road, we’re able to say, ‘Hey, we’re your community, and we’re going to help you through those spots.”
“I don’t think we need more legislation, I think we need to fix the problem, follow the policies and procedures,” she said.
Her departure will allow Gov. Mike Dunleavy to appoint his third legislator. He appointed Rep. Sharon Jackson and Sen. Josh Revak in 2019. Both of them will have to run for their seats this year.
Whomever Dunleavy appoints to the North Pole seat will need to be confirmed by House Republicans. And then that person will have to run for the seat this year.
What position at OCS will she hold?
Great job, Governor Dunleavy. Now may she do as she has wanted to do in the Legislature. Reform OCS. Now, the people must get behind her to support constructive change. Otherwise OCS government agents will destroy her attempts for reformation.
I bet she can’t stand the iron fish of Giessel and quit. She doesn’t want her name on the demise of the PFD. I can’t blame her for finding another job. All these elected officials should be like the president. 2 terms and gone! It’s the only way to have true people fighting for people’s rights not special interest groups, i.e. the teachers’ union.
She’s in the House. Giessel is in the Senate. Appears she didn’t have the secret handshake from the House majority leadership that Gabby had. Gabby left the majority toward the end of the last session and was welcomed back with open arms and leadership position. Tammy, not so much. Cheers –
There’s a reason for that, Agimarc. Tammie Wilson was co-chairing House Finance when she bolted from Dunleavy. She liked that power seat and it got to her head, so much that she rode a stretch with the Democrats. Not to be trusted again when you ride bareback on a donkey. She became a conservative without a party to fallback on, a position where no one is really your friend and no one really wants you. The political graveyard. Dunleavy felt sorry for her and gave her a meaningless job.
Good now she can’t pick sides based on the direction of the wind.
Looks like a typical GOP “buyout”.
I’m totally confused about your comment. Would you please clarify?
Greg,
For months many conservatives on this site were complaining how Tammie Wilson was “siding” with the Dems and needed to be replaced…by giving her a state job this will mitigate that concern from the Legislature this year…hence the term “buyout” in my opinion.
Okay I see and I kind of agree with you on that.
Not surprising, but here goes. A person takes an action, and then gets something of value in return.
With all of the work that Rep. Tammie has personally done helping families with OCS invasions she certainly recognizes the problems in the Department/Division. She may not know that what is truly needed are Public Advocate Services, Grandparents Rights, and allowance for Public Defenders to truly represent their clients, without intervention from their supervisors.
She will be a great fit at OCS. Job well done, Tammie.
Mike Prax of North Pole will be the governor’s choice. Mike served on the FNSB Assembly and is sharp as a tack.
Seems like a less than ideal time to make this move. If I were one of her constituents I would not be happy, but then I also would not have been happy with her for much of the last year anyways. Hopefully the good folks of House District 3 will have representation before too long.
Steve O,
You are correct, It is “less than ideal time to make this move.”
Unfortunately we see this all the time with Republicans in AK.
I voted for Sarah Palin and wound up with Parnell for nearly 8 years as Governor.
I voted for Mike Dunleavy in the Senate and wound up with Showers.
The irony here is that if Wilson’s bill (House Bill 48) would have not been vetoed by Dunleavy then this type of “appointment” to a presumably higher paying state job would not have been allowed.
“Governor Mike Dunleavy announced today his veto of House Bill 48, a bill to reclassify state employees in temporary or special positions and repeal authority given to the governor to authorize higher pay for certain positions.”
(Webcenter11.com)
I hate to ruin a good rant, but neither Palin nor Dunleavy left elected office to take an appointment in state government.
I expect Tammie to run for state Senator, Governor, or federal senator.
“Her departure will allow Gov. Mike Dunleavy to appoint his third legislator. He appointed Rep. Sharon Jackson and Sen. Josh Revak in 2019.” You forgot about Mel Gillis already?
There a one year waiting period for taking a state job that was created while sitting in the legislature. The authors of the Alaska Constitution didn’t want legislators to move immediately into jobs in the executive branch to avoid even the appearance of impropriety. You be the judge.
Article II, section 5 says, “During the term for which elected and for one year thereafter, no legislator may be nominated, elected, or appointed to any other office or position of profit which has been created, or the salary or emoluments of which have been increased, while he was a member.”
“A state Department of Health and Social Services news release issued Friday evening stated that Governor Mike Dunleavy and department Commissioner Adam Crum had CREATED a policy adviser role in the commissioner’s office, and named Wilson to the new post. The release says Wilson will, “act as a parent resource and help support family resiliency, by helping families navigate the child-welfare system and by working with OCS on positive reform.”
Comments are closed.