Yesterday, after only two or hours behind closed doors, the Alaska state Senate Majority announced its leadership lineup and some of its committee chairs, a structure, I was told, that was decided by “consensus.” Today, the much more unruly House Majority spent at least eight hours behind closed doors to organize its structure, which is decided by secret ballot.
Any surprises? Not really. (See the press release below with a full list of leadership and committee assignments.) For weeks I’ve been hearing about various members lobbying for positions of power. There was great hope that the women were going to rise up and demand more than just one leadership positions, for instance. That didn’t happen. Rep. Charisse Millett is the only woman in leadership. However, women appear well represented as either chairs of powerful committees or as members of, such as Finance and Judiciary.
There was also talk of Rep. Tammie Wilson making a play for Speaker. If she did, she didn’t get it. She did, however, get a seat on Finance. The Speaker’s position went to Rep. Mike Chenault. It’ll be his fourth, record breaking term.
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