People in the news

Sean Parnell (R)

Governor of Alaska (since July 2009)

(Eric Engman/
Getty Images)

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Background

At a Glance

Career History: Alaska Lt. Governor, 2006-2009; Practicing attorney, Patton Boggs, 2005; deputy director, State Division of Oil and Gas, 2003-2005
Birthday: Nov. 19, 1962
Hometown: Anchorage, Alaska
Alma Mater: B.B.A.-Pacific Lutheran University (1984), J.D.-University of Puget Sound (1987)
Spouse: Sandra

DC Office: 444 North Capitol NW, Suite 336Washington, DC 20001-1512Phone: 202-624-5858
State Offices: Juneau Office: P.O. Box 110001, Juneau, AK 99811-0001 Phone: 907-465-3500; Anchorage Office: 550 West 7th Avenue, Suite 1700, Anchorage, AK 99501 Phone: 907-269-7450; Fairbanks Office: 675 7th Avenue, Suite H5, Fairbanks, AK 99701-4596 Phone: 907-451-2920
Email
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Path to Power

Born in California's Central Valley in 1962, Parnell moved to Alaska at the age of ten when his father was stationed at Fort Richardson.

A graduate of East Anchorage High School, Parnell went on to study business administration at Pacific Lutheran University and law at the University of Puget Sound. Since 1987, Parnell has been a practicing attorney and has owned his own practice in downtown Anchorage.

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In 1992, Parnell was elected to the state House where he served two terms. In 1996, he won a state Senate seat, where he would co-chair the Finance Committee and the Energy Council. He chose to forgo re-election in 2000 and three years later became the deputy director of the Alaska Division of Oil and Gas under Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski (R).

Oil Lobbyist

In 2005, Parnell became a partner in the Anchorage branch of the Washington, D.C.-based law firm Patton Boggs, which has clients including ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil. For a period, he served as a lobbyist for ConocoPhillips.

In 2006, Parnell was nominated in the Republican primary as his party's candidate for lieutenant governor (In Alaska, governors and lieutenant governors run on separate primary tickets). Running on the same ticket, the two beat incumbent Murkowski in the GOP gubernatorial primary.The two defeated the Democratic ticket led by former Gov. Tony Knowles, 48 to 41 percent, in the general election.

2008 Challenge to Rep. Don Young

In March 2008, Parnell launched a bid to unseat Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), who was running for his 19th term. Parnell's father, Pat, had run against Young as a Democrat in 1980 and lost. When Parnell filed for his 2008 bid for Young's House seat, he was accompanied by Palin to the secretary of state's office.

Parnell ran on a platform of restoring integrity to Alaska politics, while an ethics probe was being conducted into Young regarding his ties to state oil company Veco. Parnell was ahead in polls leading up to the GOP primary. Still, Parnell suffered from poor debate performances and lost some of the anti-Young vote to a second primary opponent. In an extremely tight race that went to a recount, Parnell conceded more than three weeks after the August primary and was defeated by 304 votes.

When Palin was chosen as the running mate for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) for his failed 2008 presidential election bid, Parnell unofficially took on some of Palin's duties while she was away from Alaska, including giving speeches and spearheading budgetary and legislative matters.

On July 26, 2009, Palin formally resigned as governor after shocking the political world by announcing she wouldn't complete her first term. Parnell was immediately sworn-in to replace her. After Palin's announcement, Parnell said ethics investigations "weighed on [Palin] with respect to her inability to just move forward Alaska's agenda on behalf of Alaskans in the current context of the environment."

The Issues

Parnell has a reputation as a "conservative, pro-development" politician, according to Alaska Republican Party Chairman Randy Ruedrich. He is also seen as a budget hawk, harkening back to his days in the state Senate. Unlike Palin, Parnell is expected to be hands- on during the state budget process, working with lawmakers to cut spending rather than waiting for a final version to reach his desk for possible rejection.

In Alaska, the lieutenant governor oversees elections and signs-off on ballots proposals. Among the ballot proposals cleared by Parnell in August 2008 were measures that provided public funding for state elections and stemmed toxic material discharge from large metallic mines. Parnell initially rejected the latter measure on state constitutional grounds that it encroached on the legislature's authority, but backers sued for approval. Neither measure was approved by voters.

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Energy

As lieutenant governor, Parnell worked with Palin in pushing completion of a planned natural gas pipeline on Alaska's North Slope. The state-approved Exxon-TransCanada pipeline is currently in a design phase ahead of 2010 when space on the pipeline will go up for bids to natural gas producers, but Parnell said one of his top priorities as governor was seeing it through completion. Another proposed pipeline, a joint project of ConocoPhillips, is also being developed outside of the process approved by Palin.

Parnell supported a 2007 state windfall tax on oil companies, which boosted tax rates on companies' profits from 22.5 to 25 percent, claiming such moves were necessary to stem "corrupt influence" in the industry.

During his 2008 House campaign, Parnell proposed swapping 2,000 acres of federal coastal land in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for state-owned land as a way to open up the region to oil drilling.

When Palin proposed a plan to provide each Alaskan a debit card providing $100 each month for 2008 energy costs, Parnell , said he supported the governor's plan, despite the fact that he would have liked to see more state funds directed towards alternative energy.

In July 2009, Parnell called on the Alaska legislature to extend a one-year suspension of the state's eight cent per-gallon gasoline tax, saying Alaskans are already burdened with some of the highest gas prices in the nation.

Federal Spending and the Economy

Parnell called for a decrease in federal funding requests during his 2008 House candidacy, rejecting expensive earmarks from Alaska's state delegation that became synonymous with Young, including the "Bridge to Nowhere," which Parnell feared would become a "national symbol of excess and greed."

As a part of his 2008 House bid, Parnell proposed a one-year moratorium on all Alaskan earmarks so the process could be fully reviewed and the "public can have confidence." Young, Parnell's primary opponent, is a prominent champion of bringing home the bacon to Alaska.

Before President Obama's $787 billion economic stimulus package was passed in February 2009, Parnell voiced skepticism about the plan, claiming spending should focus on infrastructure projects rather than to prop up existing programs.

The day after Palin refused to accept $171.5 million in stimulus funds for schools, Parnell said she wasn't "rejecting" the money, but wanted a public discussion on how the money would be spent. Palin eventually relented, accepting most of the $930 million designated for Alaska in the stimulus. But the Alaska legislature is expected to meet in August 2009 in order to override Palin's veto of funds for energy-related projects.

The Network

As governor, Parnell is expected to maintain many of Palin's policies and keep much of her staff intact. Shortly after Palin announced her resignation in July 2009, Parnell said he planned to retain Palin's cabinet, chief of staff, budget director and legislative liaison.

Formerly Alaska's Commissioner of the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, Craig Campbell (R), who was appointed Parnell's lieutenant governor, is also expected to maintain continuity. Campbell said Parnell expects him to take on additional duties as lieutenant governor, including overseeing some of the state's homeland security and emergency-management issues.

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