Grunwald, mother of murdered Palmer teen, joins race for Lt. Governor

PALMER — Ever since her son David was murdered, allegedly by fellow Valley teens, last November, Edie Grunwald has been front-and-center as a grieving parent and as an activist for a better criminal justice system in Alaska.

On Wednesday, she threw her hat in the political arena, announcing her candidacy for Lt. Governor in 2018.

“Originally I was supporting (Sen.) Mike Dunleavy (R-Wasilla),” Grunwald explained Thursday morning outside the courtroom where a pretrial hearing for Devin Peterson, one of five youths charged in the death of her son, had just concluded. “I liked the things he stands for for and represents. I support the platform for those types of issues, and even though he suspended his race, I’m still going for it. I want to stand up for the people.”

When 16-year-old David Grunwald first went missing last November, Edie Grunwald became somewhat of an instant celebrity. And when the attention turned from locating her then missing son to prosecuting the alleged perpetrators, she remained even more in the limelight, especially speaking out against the shortcomings of SB91, the controversial senate bill that reduced penalties for many crimes.

“I dissected SB91 and attended a lot of different hearings and sentencings,” Grunwald said. “I think something needs to be done. There’s a lot of crime. We had a lot of problems before SB91 but all that did was exacerbate all the problems we were having. That’s the main thing I want to address.”

Grunwald insists she’s not merely a one-issue candidate.

“For the fiscal part, Alaska doesn’t have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem. I think somebody needs to stand up, put their foot down and make a difference,” she said.

Grunwald points to the leadership-oriented jobs she’s had in more than 30 years in the military — including logistics, aircraft maintenance and trades — as her prerequisite qualifications.

“I have a pretty credible background,” she said, adding that in addition to her military career she carries two associates degrees, a bachelor’s degree and two master’s degrees. “I listen to people and do my best to consider people’s livelihoods and I just feel that somebody’s gotta do it. I don’t mind being the person to step out there. Because of that, a lot of other people will have the courage to step up.”

Grunwald said she’s lived in Alaska since 1985, more than a dozen years in North Pole before she moved to Anchorage and then the Valley.

She never imagined a life in politics. She’d expected 2018 to be the year she was getting ready to send David off to college, or the military or a technical school.

“That’s what I wanted to do, but since that’s not happening, this has come up as a need for Alaska and so I’m stepping up,” Grunwald said. “I’m jumping in with both feet.”