Sullivan Chief of Staff Joe Balash provided APRN a status report at the senator’s office. It’s not the typical Senate office. To get there, you go past the polished marble of the Senate office buildings and down to the basement, to a tunnel that connects two buildings. In the tunnel, across from a supply room, next to a freight elevator, you’ll find a doorway that leads to Sullivan’s office suite: four windowless rooms, some with cinder-block walls. A few other freshmen senators are on the same hallway.
Balash, who officially became chief of staff barely more than a week ago, says he’s not bothered by the surroundings. “They’re fine. They’re right on Capitol Hill. They’re indoors. They’re not the portable buildings some (Senators) have been saddled with in the past,” he said. “So we’re pleased.”
The bunker-like rooms are just temporary. But it may be a while before they get out of that basement, because a new senator can’t just take the office vacated by his predecessor. A more senior senator might want it. That swap would leave a different office empty, and again, seniority determines who can call dibs. Sullivan is dead last in seniority, so he has to wait out a lot of office swaps.
“Well, they’ve told us to expect to be here until June,” Balash says, “but based on how long it took them to get computers, it’s probably more like August.”
They’ve hired a legislative director, one of the top positions on a Senate staff. He is Peter Henry, who previous worked for Missouri senators. Balash says Henry has never been to Alaska. “We needed, and recognized the need, for a person to come into our leg director spot who’s from the Senate, of the Senate, a creature of the Senate, and Peter’s been working in the Senate for 10 years,” said Balash.
The other big hire is Amanda Coyne, co-founder of the Alaska Dispatch website and, until she stopped a few days ago, a popular blogger on Alaska politics. Coyne will be Sullivan’s speechwriter and a senior advisor. Balash says Coyne can present a different perspective to the staff.
“The big thing is Amanda is just a phenomenal writer,” Balash said, “and bringing the communications skill set to bear on his job of communicating with Alaskans, with the public, is something that will help him do a better job, help Alaskans understand what he’s doing, why he’s doing it.”
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image credit APRN
