Rep. Mary Peltola was rated as a congressional representative with a striking amount of turnover in her staff. In November, she was fifth highest for turnover among the 435 members of Congress.
Now, her office ranks second highest for turnover, not including the sudden recent departure of her former press secretary/communication director, Sam Erickson, who lasted one year.
That’s according to Legistorm, a website that tracks staff comings and goings on Capitol Hill.
While Peltola’s supporters say that it’s because she started with several Republican staff members, something her detractors also point out ended soon, after she drove them out, insiders say that Peltola is known for her uncontrollable temper, shouting, and belittling of staff who work for her.
Must Read Alaska has received reports from those close to the office of disturbing occurrences, but has not been able to verify the accounts and the House Office of Employee Advocacy keeps such complaints private.
Also, Peltola has now been in office since September of 2022, and her staff turnover is much worse than the last Legistorm assessment in the fall of 2023, when most of the Republicans, such as state director Josh Revak, had already left her employment.
It is a stark contrast from the late Congressman Don Young, who had staff stay with him for many years, sometimes over a decade.
At Legistorm, under the story “Worst Bosses,” Peltola is only better than Rep. Jonathan Jackson of Illinois, who is the son of Rev. Jesse Jackson and former national spokesman for the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition.
“Offices with the most staff turnover might also include some of the worst bosses. Some members of Congress get a reputation for being hard to work for, whether due to anger management, shady ethics, poor pay, demanding too much or creating a toxic work environment,” Legistorm explains. “Whatever the reason, the resulting office dysfunction can lead to high turnover, helping to make a member of Congress more ineffectual. One possible side-effect of high turnover is making an office less responsive to constituents while being more dependent on lobbyists for advice.”
