Coup could have cut Valley out

MAT-SU -- Last weekend's shakeup of the majority structure of the Alaska House appears to have changed the lives of local legislators little, although it may limit cooperation during the next legislative session.

On Saturday, House Democrats, along with a number of more moderate Republicans, announced they had enough support to make up a bipartisan voting majority in the House, and proposed to reinstate former House Speaker Pete Kott, R-Eagle River, to lead the House instead of Valdez Rep. John Harris, who was chosen to lead by the Republican House majority.

One Valley legislator's name appeared on the list of legislators who'd back the reorganization plan, but his inclusion on that list is now being called a mistake. Rep. Vic Kohring, R-Wasilla, who has previously called himself one of the most conservative members of the House, was initially listed as a part of the reorganization group. Kohring, on Monday, sent out a press release denouncing the claim.

"I had nothing to do with the breakaway caucus," Kohring said via cell phone. He said his name's addition on the list was "done so without my knowledge and without my authorization."

Other Valley legislators are calling the move an attempt to crack into the budget surplus legislators are expecting to be available as a result of record-high oil prices in recent months.

"Among the players involved, I didn't see anything about philosophies they maintained, and there were no real specific reasons why [to reorganize]," said Rep. Bill Stoltze, R-Butte/Chugiak. "The motivation was to put together an organization that wanted to spend a lot of money."

Stoltze said he expects to keep his vice-chairmanship of the House Finance Committee, a position he had hoped to obtain after serving on the committee during his first term.

Other Valley legislators hoped to retain committee memberships they obtained when the first reorganization took place last week. A meeting is scheduled today among legislators to finalize committee assignments, although assignments could still change before the Legislature meets in Juneau in January.

Stoltze said he wasn't contacted Saturday about the proposed reorganization, and only found out about the attempted takeover a few minutes before an evening news broadcast. He said it appeared all Valley legislators were left out of the equation -- a move he said made little sense to him.

"It's not a healthy thing to have happen," Stoltze said. "I guess the attempt was to put something together without our input."

Stoltze said such a move would have left a major portion of the state -- the Valley -- without a voice in Juneau. The reorganization didn't happen, Stoltze said, but it could have ramifications during the upcoming legislative session.

"It's hard not to have some personal feelings," Stoltze said. "But it's more important to move forward."

Although Republicans involved in the reorganization attempt may face sanctions from the Republican Party of Alaska, Stoltze said he hopes the matter can be put behind legislators when they get to Juneau.

"I'm conservative, but I'm a pretty fair person," Stoltze said. "It's hard not to be when you're working together in a legislative body. I think your better impulses take over."

Contact Rindi White at rindi.white@frontiersman.com.