It was approved on a 22 to 17 vote Thursday.
In addition to House Speaker Rep. Stutes, three independents, and all Democrats, Republican Representatives Kelly Merrick and Sara Rasmusen were yes votes.
Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, of Sitka, will serve on the Judiciary Committee and as chair of the State Affairs Committee.
Juneau Representative, Andi Story, will co-chair the Education Committee again and serve on State Affairs once more.
Juneau Representative, Sara Hannan, also drew the same committee assignments from the last Legislature. She s co-chair of Community and Regional Affairs and will serve on the Resources and Transportation Committees.
Late Wednesday, Anchorage Representative, Geran Tarr, said she will not remain a part of the House’s multi-partisan coalition, according to a report by the Anchorage Daily News.
Anchorage Democratic Rep Geran Tarr breaks from Alaska House s coalition caucus
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February 04, 2021 - 12:26 PM
JUNEAU, Alaska - The Alaska House voted Thursday to elect freshman Rep. Josiah Patkotak as temporary speaker but remained unorganized, with no majority in charge, more than two weeks into the legislative session.
Patkotak, an independent from Utqiagvik, took over for Lt. Gov. Kevin Meyer, who had been presiding over House floor sessions for the purpose of electing a temporary speaker. Prior nominations of other members leading to Thursday had failed.
Patkotak was elected 39-0, with Democratic Rep. Geran Tarr of Anchorage shown as absent.
Patkotak has been voting with a 20-member bloc, largely composed of Democrats but that also includes independents and Republican Rep. Louise Stutes of Kodiak. There also is a 20-member Republican group. Rep. Mike Cronk of Tok, a member of the Republican group, nominated Patkotak on Thursday.
Alaska House picks freshman Patkotak as temporary speaker
February 4, 2021 GMT
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) The Alaska House voted Thursday to elect freshman Rep. Josiah Patkotak as temporary speaker but remained unorganized, with no majority in charge, more than two weeks into the legislative session.
Patkotak, an independent from Utqiagvik, took over for Lt. Gov. Kevin Meyer, who had been presiding over House floor sessions for the purpose of electing a temporary speaker. Prior nominations of other members leading to Thursday had failed.
Patkotak was elected 39-0, with Democratic Rep. Geran Tarr of Anchorage shown as absent.
Patkotak has been voting with a 20-member bloc, largely composed of Democrats but that also includes independents and Republican Rep. Louise Stutes of Kodiak. There also is a 20-member Republican group. Rep. Mike Cronk of Tok, a member of the Republican group, nominated Patkotak on Thursday.
By DAVE KIFFER - With future ferry service up in the air and the price of both barge shipping and air travel on the rise, you could certainly forgive Ketchikan residents for wistfully wondering how life would be different in Southern Southeast if a road connected Ketchikan to the rest of the continent.
To be sure, even if there was a road it would be at least a 1,500-mile trip to drive from Ketchikan to Seattle but that s the not the point. You could do it, even if it took several days.
It was during the expansion of the canned salmon industry in the 1920s and early 1930s, that the federal government began considering connecting Alaska to the rest of the country. Thomas MacDonald, who would run the Bureau of Public Roads from 1919 to 1953, first proposed a coastal highway between Seattle and Southeast Alaska in 1925.
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