Most Alaska lawmakers were born elsewhere

To the editor:

Dan Sullivan isn’t “from” Alaska? How long did Hillary Clinton live in New York before being elected to the senate from that state? But I digress.

Only two U.S. senators for Alaska were actually born here: Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich. They are children of former senators, both of whom were not born in Alaska. Frank Murkowski was born in Seattle, and Nick Begich Sr. was born in Minnesota. Really!

Mike Gravel was born in Springfield, Massachusetts and Ted Stevens was born in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Governors? Walter Hickel, Kansas; Bill Sheffield, Spokane, Washington; Tony Knowles, Tulsa, Oklahoma; Sean Parnell, Hanford, California; Sarah Palin, Sand Point, Idaho; Jay Hammond, Troy, New York.

Of all Alaskan governors, only Bill Egan was born in Alaska. Not even Jay Hammond was “from” Alaska! (I Googled them all.)

Other Alaska public servants not “from” Alaska are the following; Johnny Ellis, Missouri; Bill Wielechowski, New Jersey; Hollis French, Massachusetts; Berta Gardner, Utah; Les Gara, New York City; Paul Seaton, California; Max Gruenberg, California; David Guttenberg, New York City; Chris Tuck, California; Don Young, California; Bob Bartlett, Cleveland, Ohio; Ernest Gruening, New York City; Scott Kawasaki, Tokyo, Japan. (Wow!)

I did not look up every single Alaska public servant past and present. But I am confident in saying that most of them were not born in Alaska and therefore not “from” Alaska in the Mark Begich sense. So wouldn’t you think that the Begich people ought to give it a rest? How pathetic is it when Dan Sullivan’s greatest sin is that he is not “from” Alaska?

Barbara Landi

Palmer

Editor’s note: Concerns about U.S. Senate candidate Dan Sullivan residency relate to inconsistency in answering questions about when he became an Alaska resident. Since being appointed Alaska Attorney General in 2009, Sullivan has given varied answers that alleged he has lived in Alaska from one year to 17 years, and is now under investigation by the Maryland attorney general for claiming tax breaks on a residence he owns there while also claiming to be a full-time Alaska resident.