| Sean Parnell | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 10th Governor of Alaska | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office July 26, 2009 |
|
| Lieutenant | Craig Campbell Mead Treadwell |
| Preceded by | Sarah Palin |
| 11th Lieutenant Governor of Alaska | |
| In office December 4, 2006 – July 26, 2009 |
|
| Governor | Sarah Palin |
| Preceded by | Loren Leman |
| Succeeded by | Craig Campbell |
| Member of the Alaska Senate from the I district |
|
| In office January 13, 1997 – January 13, 2001 |
|
| Preceded by | Steve Rieger |
| Succeeded by | John Cowdery |
| Member of the Alaska House of Representatives from the 17th district |
|
| In office January 11, 1993 – January 12, 1997 |
|
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Succeeded by | John Cowdery |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 19, 1962 Hanford, California, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Sandra Scebold (1987–present) |
| Children | Grace Rachel |
| Residence | Governor's Mansion |
| Alma mater | Pacific Lutheran University University of Puget Sound |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Religion | Non-denominational Christian[1] |
| Signature |  |
| Website | Official website |
Sean R. Parnell (born November 19, 1962) is the tenth and current Governor of Alaska. He was elected to a full term as Governor in November 2010. A Republican, he was first sworn in on July 26, 2009 to succeed Sarah Palin after her resignation.[2][3] He is the first unelected Alaska Governor to be elected in his own right.[4]
Contents |
Early life, education, and law career[edit]
Sean Parnell was born in Hanford, California, the elder of two sons, to Kevin Patrick "Pat" and Thelma Carol (née Liebherr) Parnell.[5]
Pat Parnell was stationed at Fort Richardson, near Anchorage, Alaska, while in the U.S. Army in the late 1950s, and returned to Alaska with his family in 1973, establishing residence in Anchorage. He established a photocopy and office supply business alongside the busy Seward Highway in midtown Anchorage, while Thelma Parnell worked at Bartlett High School and East Anchorage High School, the latter a short distance from their home.
Sean Parnell attended Pacific Lutheran University, earning his B.B.A. in 1984, and University of Puget Sound School of Law (now Seattle University School of Law) earning his law degree in 1987. He is admitted to the bar in both Alaska and Washington D.C.[citation needed]
Alaska legislature[edit]
In 1992, Parnell was elected to the Alaska House of Representatives, where he served two terms and was a member of the finance committee. In 1996, he ran for and was elected to a seat in the Alaska Senate. In the Senate, he was a member of the Energy Council and served on and then co-chaired the Senate finance committee.[6]
Lobbying career[edit]
Parnell left the Alaska Senate to become director of government relations in Alaska for the oil company ConocoPhillips.[7] In 2005, he joined the lobbying firm Patton Boggs, where he advised clients on state and federal regulations governing development of major oil and gas projects. Patton Boggs represented ExxonMobil in the Exxon Valdez oil spill litigation.[8]
In April 2005, Washingtonian and the Dallas Morning News both reported that Patton Boggs was the first in revenue among lobbyists.[9] Parnell left Patton Boggs less than two years later on December 3, 2006[10] to advise Governor Sarah Palin on issues related to commercializing Alaska North Slope gas.[11][12]
Lieutenant governor[edit]
In 2005, Parnell ran in the Republican primary to become lieutenant governor. In the general election, he ran as Palin's running mate. In Alaska, the lieutenant governor runs separately from the governor in the primaries, but after the primaries, the nominees for governor and lieutenant governor run together as a slate. Palin and Parnell were elected.[citation needed]
2008 congressional campaign[edit]
On March 14, 2008, Parnell began his campaign to take on embattled 18-term Congress member Don Young in the August 26 Republican primary.[13] His father was the Democratic nominee running against Young in 1980. The result was a landslide; Young captured 73 percent of the vote, his largest reelection vote percentage until 2002.
Parnell was endorsed by Sarah Palin,[14] National Review magazine,[15] and the fiscally conservative 501(c)4 organization Club for Growth.[16]
On July 31, 2008, Parnell told Roll Call that he would not drop out in his race against Young to run against Senator Ted Stevens, who had been indicted.[17]
Parnell lost the primary for the U.S. House seat. The margin between Young, the incumbent, and Parnell was narrow, and the winner was not immediately clear. The result released on September 18 showed Young winning by 304 votes. Parnell said the odds of overturning Young's victory were too small to warrant a recount.[18]
Governor of Alaska[edit]
Ascent to office[edit]
On July 26, 2009, halfway through her term as governor, Palin resigned. Parnell replaced her becoming Alaska's tenth governor in accordance with the Alaska Constitution.[2] Craig Campbell, commissioner of Alaska's Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, succeeded Parnell as lieutenant governor after Joe Schmidt, commissioner of corrections and Palin's designated replacement for Parnell, refused the position.[citation needed]
2010 campaign[edit]
Parnell ran for a full term as governor in 2010. In the primary, he faced off against Bill Walker, a former Cabinet member[dubious ] and aide to former governor Walter J. Hickel, and Ralph Samuels, a retiring member of the Alaska House of Representatives. Although Walker seemed to gain traction towards the end based on the issue of building a natural gas pipeline, Samuels and Walker split the anti-Parnell vote[citation needed] and Parnell won the nomination. He faced off against former House Majority Leader and 2008 Congressional nominee, Ethan Berkowitz.[19] and was elected with Mead Treadwell who had won the August primary for Lieutenant Governor. Though Berkowitz, and former 2006 Congressional nominee, Diane Benson, seemed to have the strongest ticket seen by Democrats in a while[citation needed] that included endorsements from Walker; Parnell-Treadwell eventually defeated Berkowitz-Benson by over ten points.[20]
References[edit]
- ^ Drake, Bruce. "What Is Sean Parnell's Religion?". Politicsdaily.com. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
- ^ a b Palin stepping down this month. CNN, 2009-07-03.
- ^ "Palin to Resign as Governor of Alaska". The New York Times. July 3, 2009.
- ^ Election 2010: Alaska Results NPR 10-3-2010
- ^ Metcalfe, Peter M., ed. (1991). "Legislative Branch". Alaska Blue Book (Tenth ed.). Juneau: Alaska Department of Education, Division of State Libraries, Archives and Museums. p. 111.
- ^ Alaska Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell's profile
- ^ Yardley, William. The New York Times http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/p/sean_parnell/index.html
|url=missing title (help). Retrieved May 23, 2010. - ^ "Who is Sean Parnell?". Juneau Empire. Retrieved 2010-08-29.
- ^ April 2006 Patton Boggs press release
- ^ 2007 Parnell's public official financial disclosure statement filed in March 2007.
- ^ The Village Voice "The Book of Sarah (Palin)" by Wayne Barrett, October 8, 2008
- ^ News release by the lobbying firm Paton Boggs June, 13, 2005
- ^ Alaska Lieutenant Governor Announces Primary Run Against Young, By Josh Kraushaar - CBS News
- ^ Washington Anti-Earmark Group Endorses Parnell. by R.A. Dillon. Fairbanks Daily News Miner. June 6, 2008. Partially accessed by archives search on Jan. 5, 2011, full access requires registration and fee. "He also has the backing of fiscally conservative Gov. Sarah Palin."
- ^ Don Young’s Wrong Way, National Review. April 1, 2008. Accessed Aug. 4, 2008.
- ^ Club for Growth endorses challenger to Young, By Josh Kraushaar, politico.com. June 6, 2008. Accessed Aug. 4, 2008.
- ^ "Parnell Won’t Switch to Alaska Senate Race" By Shira Toeplitz, Roll Call. July 31, 2008. Accessed Aug. 4, 2008.
- ^ Anne Sutton, "No recount in GOP race for Alaska's House seat", Associated Press, September 18, 2008.[dead link]
- ^ "Gov Palin to resign her office". KTUU-TV. Retrieved 2009-07-03.
- ^ "Election Night 2010: Incumbents Parnell and Young Re-Elected, Possibly Murkowski", APRN, March 10, 2010
External links[edit]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sean Parnell |
- Office of Governor Sean Parnell official Alaska government site
- Parnell for Governor official campaign site
- Biography at the National Governors Association
- Biography, interest group ratings, public statements, vetoes and campaign finances at Project Vote Smart
- Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
- Campaign contributions at FollowTheMoney.org
- Appearances on C-SPAN programs
- Collected news and commentary at The New York Times
- Collected news and commentary at The Washington Post
- Sean Parnell at 100 Years of Alaska's Legislature
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Loren Leman |
Lieutenant Governor of Alaska 2006–2009 |
Succeeded by Craig Campbell |
| Preceded by Sarah Palin |
Governor of Alaska 2009–present |
Incumbent |
| United States order of precedence | ||
| Preceded by Joe Biden as Vice President |
Order of Precedence of the United States Within Alaska |
Succeeded by Mayor of city in which event is held |
| Succeeded by Otherwise John Boehner as Speaker of the House of Representatives |
||
| Preceded by Jan Brewer as Governor of Arizona |
Order of Precedence of the United States Outside Alaska |
Succeeded by Neil Abercrombie as Governor of Hawaii |
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