Dunleavy names Chickaloon woman Commissioner of Natural Resources

Governor-elect Mike Dunleavy has chosen Mat-Su resident Corri Feige to be his Commissioner of Natural Resources. Feige, who lives in Chickaloon with her husband, Eric, is a petroleum engineer who headed the state’s Division of Oil and Gas, a part of the DNR.

Feige has also worked as a consultant to oil and gas companies, including working with on exploration of the small Umiat oil field on the North Slope and potential underground coal gasification projects in Southcentral Alaska.

Dunleavy made the announcement, his first cabinet pick, Wednesday at the annual Resource Development Council conference in Anchorage. Last week Dunleavy announced another key appointment, choosing Republican Party leader Tuckerman Babcock to be his Chief of Staff.

In other political developments, the final outcome of a closely-watch state House race in Fairbanks could upend a planned organization of the state House announced a week ago. Rep. Dave Talerico, R-Healy, was chosen to be House Speaker with Reps. Tammie Wilson, R-North Pole and Lance Pruitt as cochairs of the House Finance Committee, and Mat-Su’s Rep. Cathy Tilton as chair of the Rules Committee.

The announcement may have been premature. After a count of absentee and questioned ballots earlier this week Democrat Kathryn Dodge overtook Republican Bart LeBon and as on Wednesday held a 17-vote advantage. A win by Dodge, unexpected a week ago, would change the calculus.

The final result in the House seat race will be known Friday following more absentee and questioned ballot counting, and the results could easily change, electing LeBon. There is likely to be a recount.

Another nail-biter is the extremely close 17-vote lead, as of late Wednesday, by Democrat Rep. Scott Kawasaki for the Fairbanks Senate seat held by Sen. Pete Kelly, who is also Senate President.

A victory by Kawasaki would still leave Republicans in charge of the Senate but the chemistry would change. With Kelly, a strong conservative, out of the picture a more moderate group of Republicans would likely control the Senate

However, if Dodge prevails in the House race the result could be a 20-20 deadlock in choosing a Speaker and other key positions the 40-member state House.

That assumes one independent who joined the Democrat-led Majority in 2015 sticks with the Democrats, which is expected, and the two Republicans who also joined Democrats to form a coalition in 2015 decide to go again with Democrats.

One of those, Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux, R-Anch., is being shunned by the Republican Party, which also supported a write-in opponent in the general election, and is considered a firm candidate to cross over once again.

There’s less certainty about Rep. Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, who also joined the Democrats in 2015, but Democrats in the House feel they can persuade Stutes to join them again.

This scenario would have the 17 Democrats, one independent and two moderate Republicans in a 20-member block, opposing the 20 Republicans in the House.

That includes Mat-Su’s Republican Rep. David Eastman, however, a maverick who frequently voted against his GOP colleagues in the current Legislature. Eastman makes no bones that he is opposing the selection of Talerico, Wilson and Pruitt for the House leadership, although he might change, he said, if certain conditions are met, such as a repeal of Senate Bill 91, a crime reform bill.

If Eastman takes a walk, House Republicans only have 19 votes, which is not enough to form a leadership Majority to do business. But the potential coalition would only have 20 votes, too, which isn’t enough.