Alaska Politics Blog : Palin's team shoots back at Ramras. Plus: Schmidt on the lite guv job

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Erika Bolstad

Erika Bolstad covers Alaska issues, including the congressional delegation, from Washington, D.C., for McClatchy Newspapers. Before joining the bureau in 2007, she spent seven years as a reporter at the Miami Herald, where she covered politics, government and the state legislature. E-mail Erika at ebolstad@adn.com.

Sean Cockerham

Sean Cockerham writes about Alaska state politics. He's worked for the ADN in Anchorage and Juneau, covered the legislature for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, and covered Washington state politics for the Tacoma News Tribune. E-mail Sean at scockerham@adn.com

Kyle Hopkins

Kyle Hopkins covers rural affairs, general assignments and politics for the ADN. He covered the 2006 campaign for governor, has blogged extensively about Alaska politics, covered Anchorage city government and was a reporter based in the Mat-Su. He grew up in Southeast Alaska and previously wrote for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner and Anchorage Press. E-mail Kyle at khopkins@adn.com and also find him on our rural Alaska blog, The Village.

Don Hunter

Don Hunter covers Anchorage city government and politics. He is a longtime ADN reporter and editor and wrote for the Anchorage Times. E-mail Don at dhunter@adn.com

David Hulen

David Hulen, the ADN's state and local news editor, is responsible for political coverage. He has been an editor and reporter at the ADN for more than 20 years. E-mail David at dhulen@adn.com

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Palin's team shoots back at Ramras. Plus: Schmidt on the lite guv job

Posted by Alaska_Politics

Posted: July 8, 2009 - 8:08 pm

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From Kyle Hopkins in Anchorage --

Allow me to dump my notebook a little bit on this who-gets-to-be-lite-guv story.

The news today was that the Legislature’s lawyer wrote an opinion saying Craig Campbell, the man Palin said will be the new lieutenant governor, can’t get the job until lawmakers sign off on him.

Here’s what Corrections Commissioner Joe Schmidt had to say in a phone interview today. Remember, he’s the one who was confirmed by the Legislature to be the next lieutenant governor, but he’s not interested in the job:

On the phone: Joe Schmidt

...

(Schmidt’s special assistant, Richard Schmitz, later called to make it clear Palin & Schmidt had never dated, for what it’s worth.)

You probably saw the press release earlier, where Rep. Jay Ramras said his judiciary committee is holding a confirmation hearing for Campbell on July 20.

Ramras said: “The Governor quit and went fishing. ... Governor Palin failed to leave specific instructions, so the Legislature is stepping in to bring order to the constitutional chaos she created.”

Palin’s chief of staff, Mike Nizich, had something to say about that in a short phone interview:

“I just think it’s an irresponsible statement on behalf of Rep. Ramras. I mean, it’s not like the governor’s on vacation,” Nizich said. “She’s in contact with this office just like normal ... She has asked the attorney general’s office to go over this with a fine-tooth comb, and ensure that the process that is in place is legal, defensible and they’re working on that right now. We hope to have an opinion by Law that lays everything out,” Nizich said.

And finally, here’s the statement Gov. Sarah Palin sent, via her spokeswoman, this afternoon. Here's what I got out if it: They plan to follow the law ...

Palin's statement:

“To avoid putting Alaskans through the typical, ‘politics-as-usual, lame duck’ status during my last year in office, steps are in place for a smooth leadership transition without gaps in our agenda's progress that's proven successful. Sean Parnell will continue to protect our Constitution and responsibly develop our resources and keep the state on good economic ground, as we've been doing together these past years.

“We're ensuring that the proper Constitutional and statutory procedures are followed. The Department of Law is overseeing the transition process so it's seamless and we stay true to Alaska’s Constitution and statutes.

“I'll bring Lt. Gen. Campbell's name forward and he'll serve Alaskans well as Lt. Gov.

“Statutes will be followed in this transition, as they were when Gov. Hickel moved forward some years ago to work for Alaska in a different capacity than Governor, and as transition statutes are followed when lawmakers chose to move from their legislative seats to work elsewhere.

“The only request I have of lawmakers through this line of succession process is for them to be open and transparent about their confirmation decision by casting votes in public, then we can all look forward to a wonderful swearing-in ceremony for Sean Parnell that I'm planning to hold in Fairbanks!”