Cordero to join Gattis in Juneau

PALMER — A second member of the Mat-Su Borough School Board will uproot for Juneau when the Legislature gets to work in January.

Incoming state Rep. Lynn Gattis, a school board member, has hired school board vice-president Erick Cordero as her legislative aide. Cordero also served as her campaign manager during her recent state House election.

Gattis has announced her plans to resign from the school board in mid-January. She made that decision after the House Majority named her Education Committee chair. Gattis cited conflicts of interest that could arise if Mat-Su priorities came before the committee.

But Cordero hopes to remain on the board if at all possible, he said Monday.

Cordero has spent the better part of the last three years juggling his school-board responsibilities with a family and an Anchorage commute necessitated by his work as statewide pro bono program director for Alaska Legal Services Corp., he said.

Cordero said he thinks he’ll be able to make the time to represent Mat-Su school issues while working in Juneau during the legislative session.

“I’ve never done this before so I don’t know how high the demand will be,” Cordero said. “But one thing I will do for sure is if ... I cannot fulfill my duties as a school-board member I will voluntarily step down.”

Cordero grew up in Mexico City. He’s served on the school board for three years. At 37, he’s the youngest member of the board and its first Hispanic member. He’s a self-described social conservative — raised Catholic — who supports school choice.

Gattis said she isn’t concerned that Cordero will face any potential conflicts because the school board has a lobbyist who brings Mat-Su education concerns before the Legislature.

“Erick will not be doing their work for them,” she said. She added that education is not her only focus. Gattis will also co-chair House Transportation and Fisheries committees, and serve on the Board of Economic Development and Tourism.

Gattis has also named Jim Ellis to her staff. Ellis served as staff to former Sen. Lyda Green, among other lawmakers.

Any legislative staffers working for the majority are “quite busy,” said Jonathan Rosenberg, a political science professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Darrell Breese works as a legislative aide in the office of Rep. Bill Stoltze, a post he’s held for the last three years. Breese describes the first weeks of the session as slower, but still a full-time job. Days end around 6 or 7 p.m.

But when the session starts to wind down, things get hectic, Breese said.

“The last couple weeks is a busy, intense time that requires more than the regular 9 to 5,” he said. “The job really requires more than the regular 9 to 5 because of the nature of it. There’s only 90 days to get things done.”

Still, he said, juggling a local board and a political post is certainly doable for someone with strong organizational skills.

Cordero points out that one of state Sen. Dennis Egan’s legislative aides, Jesse Kiehl, also sits on the City and Borough of Juneau Assembly.

Cordero’s wife, Karen, is a teacher at Eagle River High School. They have two children. He said he will try to come back to the Mat-Su whenever possible. He said he’s checked in with a friend who works for a legislator to gauge his workload in Juneau.

“I’ve never done it. I still don’t know,” he said. “It’s something I’ll have to reassess once I’m there.”

Mat-Su School Board President Susan Pougher said the board has historically allowed members to teleconference when absent. But the new school board chamber has video technology that may allow Cordero to participate in meetings via Skype so he can actually “see” the proceedings.

Pougher said she doesn’t think Cordero’s new job will hurt the school board.

“Somebody with knowledge of how school finance works, right there in Juneau, is always an asset,” she said.