Governor opens new office in the Mat-Su

People in the Mat-Su Borough no longer have to book a flight to Juneau to get the governor's ear.

Beginning Tuesday, Gov. Frank Murkowski opened a Mat-Su office, with the intention of improving two-way communication between the administration and people in the Valley.

After a four-month search, the governor's office announced that Colleen Sullivan-Leonard will serve as Murkowski's liaison in the Mat-Su. Sullivan-Leonard has lived in the Valley since 1996 and has been active in several community and government organizations.

She sat on the Wasilla City Council for two years, between 2001 and 2003. She was also a committee aide to state Rep. Carl Gatto, R-District 13, and also served as Wasilla planning commissioner. Her new job will carry an annual salary of $50,700.

The selection process for the new position took about four months, according to Sullivan-Leonard.

"It was a long process," Murkowski spokesperson Becky Hultberg said. "We wanted to ensure we had the office ready to open and that we had the right person in the position. We're very confident Colleen will do a great job."

Sullivan-Leonard opened the office Tuesday, and said she was still getting equipment and furniture in place on Wednesday. Though she's had to hit the ground running, she said she's excited to get to work.

The purpose of opening a governor's office in the Valley is primarily to improve communication between the governor and people in the Mat-Su, according to Hultberg.

"It gives the governor another set of eyes and ears in the community," Hultberg said. "It puts a representative in the Valley who understands the concerns and needs of people there and who can communicate that information back to the governor."

"It's something I'd say mirrors what they already have in place for the congressional delegation in D.C.," Sullivan-Leonard said. "It's a nonpartisan position, and my job will be to get out there in the community and let people know the governor has a person here."

Gov. Murkowski was instrumental in opening the congressional delegation offices around the state when he served in the U.S. Senate, according to Hultberg.

He was so impressed with the information he received from those offices, and at the ability to get information out through the offices to communities, that he felt local governor's offices were a natural extension of the process, Hultberg said.

There are several congressional delegation offices in communities throughout the state, including the Mat-Su.

An important part of Sullivan-Leonard's job will be to communicate information from the community back to the governor.

"This is the fastest-growing area in the state," Sullivan-Leonard said, "and the governor is concerned about how that growth affects the community - how it affects schools, roads and infrastructure."

She said she'll gather that information from people around the community, including local government officials, chambers of commerce and ordinary citizens, and share it with Gov. Murkowski.

"The most important thing for people to know is that the governor wants this office to run with an open-door policy," Sullivan-Leonard said. "We'll be attending chamber of commerce meetings and sitting down with local government officials, but we also want everybody to be comfortable just to pull in off the Parks Highway and visit with us. We'll have coffee going, and we want to hear from anyone who has concerns about what state government is doing, or who just wants to discuss the issues that are important to them here in the Valley."

The office is located in the Department of Labor Job Center at 835 E. Commercial Dr. in Wasilla - at the West Side Center. Office hours will be 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sullivan-Leonard can be reached at 352-2585.