Palmer representative re-elected

PALMER — DeLena Johnson won her bid for re-election as the District 11 representative in the State House, which encompasses most of greater Palmer.

Johnson beat newcomer Eileen Patterson, a military veteran and member of the Mat-Su Borough Planning Commission, who was the Democratic party nominee.

“I’m very relieved and glad to have it done and excited. I’m pretty excited, there's kind of a mandate on the whole on having a solid team that comes from the Valley,” Johnson said.

Johnson saw stiffer competition in the Republican Primary, defeating Palmer Mayor Edna DeVries. Johnson received 72.17 percent of the vote on Tuesday with 5,360 votes, to 27.32 percent for Patterson, who received 2,029 votes.

“I’m ecstatic! It’s a very, very good day, just a good day for the Valley,” Johnson said.

Johnson won her primary nomination by a slimmer margin, taking 59.12 percent of the vote over DeVries’ 40.88 percent. Johnson said she is looking forward to entering a legislative session with a newly elected Republican Governor Mike Dunleavy, of Wasilla. On Wednesday morning, 21 members formed a new House Majority caucus, including Johnson and the rest of the Valley House members. District 12 Representative Cathy Tilton will serve as Rules Committee Chair, and much is still yet to be determined about the new house leadership. Nonetheless, Johnson is excited to get to work.

“It means I will be hopefully able to have a solid position that will help the Valley a lot more. You certainly can’t do much from the minority, so see what shakes out,” Johnson said.