Anchorage Rep. Lindsey Holmes confirmed on Friday that she will not be seeking reelection to her House seat in West Anchorage.
“It was a hard decision because I love my job, and I feel really good about a lot of things I did as a legislator,” she said. Her heart, however, wasn’t 100 percent in it. She said she’s looking forward to working, spending time with her god kids, friends, and in the house that she loves.
Holmes switched from Democrat to Republican last year, and has received much criticism, and a recall effort, for doing so.
She doesn’t know what she’ll be doing now. She’s a lawyer and she’ll be looking for a job in the private sector, but she doesn’t have anything lined up.
As for party politics, she going to continue to be a Republican, and will help out Rep. Mia Costello in her run for state Senate, she said. She’d also like to help those who are working to oppose an oil tax repeal. She will not be supporting Matt Claman, the Democrat who is running for her seat.
Contact Amanda Coyne at amandmacoyne@yahoo.com
According to her linked-in profile, she works for GCI
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/lindsey-holmes/6/a24/5b1
Lindsey Holmes’s Overview
Current
Representative at Alaska State Legislature
Corporate and Regulatory Attorney at GCI
Past
Project Manager at RISE Alaska
Attorney at Heller Ehrman
Attorney at Ashburn & Mason
Ding dong ……
Iit’s probably time for Ms. Holmes to hang it up. Switching parties wasn’t her down fall; rather, it was the way she handled it. She infuriated her supporters and volunteers, refusing to return their calls and giving them the courtesy of an explanation. Holmes was a thoughtful and fair legislator. Her political philosophies were never extreme. I think she ultimately left the democratic party because of their constant and aggressibe disdain for the oil companies. Like them or not, they are Alaska’s economic engine. Let’s hope that the party finds a good candidate to replace her.
A final test of Representative Holmes’ character will be the manner in which she closes out her APOC campaign account. Wiill she spend her contributions, or did she already, on trinkets like new ipads for herself, or will she be more honorable than some of her colleagues in the past have been. Let’s hope she supports some worthwhile cause other than utilization on her new elephant party.
Lindsey spent most of her legislative career balanced on the edge of a bar stool. After her craven defection to the Republicans, she rarely appeared in public, unwelcome and unwanted.
I hope the SB21 people give her a job: it’ll help ensure its defeat. She can sew this Veco patch onto her fleece http://tinyurl.com/lr3psec for the campaign.
She appeared to be more capable as a legislator than most of them. That said, between the party switch for a position on House Finance followed by the mysterious tennis court appropriation she drilled the holes in her own boat .
357, In our experience canvassing the neighborhood for recall signatures, we found that the people who weren’t upset with Ms. Holmes’ switch were almost invariably people who didn’t vote for her. Party or not, when someone represents themselves as a Democrat, there are certain positions you expect them to take. Once she was elected, she voted almost 100% with the Republican bloc. It would have been nice for those of us who voted for her to have known that in advance.
First, I would compliment the blog for once again breaking this political news. It seems you do this quiite often. Second, I had to chuckle at the negative comments wishing Rep. Holmes “good riddance”. I noticed that these individuals , by their comments, are also Democrats and wonder if the antagonism comes from the fact that she switched parties. Party registration is not a demonstrative factor in determining if one is a good legislator or not. And, if you believe iit is then you are probably, to use your terminology, more of a “vapidzoid” than you realized. Thirdly, I watched Rep Holmes on Gavel to Gavel quite often and was impressed in how she handled civil discourse, the questions that she asked and the amendments that she offered – – both as a Democrat and as a Republican. I do admit that as a Republican she seemed to get more done. Her constituents should be grateful for that. Was she perfect ? Who is ? Her handling of the tennis court appropriation was hardly a hiigh point of her career. I will give her credit for having the courage to fix the problem this year when she reappropriated those funds. All in all, Rep Holmes was a good, decent and honorable public official. She deserves our gratitude for her public service. She has my thanks and best wishes for the future.
“Her heart, however, wasn’t 100 percent in it.” You don’t say…
Handwriting on the wall. This legislative seat belongs to someone who will represent the people in this district…a Democrat.
Don’t let the door, etc, etc. Good riddance to a truly bad legislator. How appropriate for her to be helping her fellow Vapidzoid Mia troll the rubes this upcoming election cycle.