Co-Chair of House Finance Bill Stoltze announced on Friday to a crowd of about 200 at the Senior Center in Palmer that he’s running for state Senate. The seat is a newly created one that will take part of Sen. Fred Dyson’s Eagle River district and join it to the Valley. Much of it will encompass Chugiak, where Stoltze lives and has represented since 2002.
Candidates for the seat so far include Edna DeVries, the former state legislator and current Palmer City Council member, and current Palmer Mayor Delena Johnson, who filed to run in mid-December and for whom Stoltze actively campaigned in her last mayor’s race. Stoltze, a tireless campaigner, is favored in the race.
Stoltze will miss the House, he said, which is more egalitarian than the Senate. However, he’s looking to switch chambers because it’s the best thing for the Valley, he said, which deserves the “best possible representation.”
It’s unknown who will run for Stoltze’s House seat.
The move will change the dynamics of the House leadership. There was a possibility that Stoltze would angle to be the Speaker next session, a position that’s chosen by the majority caucus. Now it looks like Rep. Craig Johnson will emerge as one of the front runners for Speaker if he wants it. Some speculate that Rep. Mike Hawker will try to get one of the co-chairmanships of the Finance Committee, replacing Stoltze.
Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com
I have long been a fan of Rep. Bill Stoltze. He is a hard working committed conservative. He supports the second amendment and works hard for his district. He’ll be a positive addition to the state senate
Bill Stolze is a capable legislator and I trust he will function well in the Senate; however, he is of the current generation of legislators who, with only a single brief period when oil prices collapsed, has had very little challenge in allocating available funds.
We are now in deficit spending for the foreseeable future and Rep. Stolze has been influential on the House Finance Committee for the last several years. He was closely associated with spending for both the LIO project and the Anchorage new tennis court funding despite his claims of being ignorant of the process with the LIO or being deceived by Mayor Sullivan regarding the Tennis Court funding under the guise of “deferred maintenance”.
I agree with AK Mom. Stoltze is a good legislator and Hawker is a terrible public official. Hopefully, his constituents will throw out the arrogant bastard. His time has passed.
I figured this would happen and Stoltze seems to be hard working and smart. But it is beyond belief that Hawker would have any committee assignments of any importance following the Anchorage LIO remodel debacle. I shake my head that the leadership just ignores how terrible that deal was for the State of Alaska.
Congratulations Rep. Stoltze. Your commitment to your community and the district you represent is unparralled. You got my vote and pretty sure you got all of our votes in the Lions Club.
Surprised to see that Represetnative Bill Stoltze is running for the senate. As a long time observer of the legislative process, I can say without doubt that he is one of the most honest and honorable people to have ever served in Juneau. He can be difficult to deal with at times and is known to have a short fused temper. Still, he’s a goog uy and a hard worker too. He’ll make a great senator.
I know that Stoltze is popular with his constituency but 200 people at an announcement is huge. There weren’t that many at the governor’s announcement or at any of the candidates running for the US Senate. If the other opponents, Johnson and the Palmer councilwoman who threw her hat in the race, have any sense they might want to reevaluate their plans or possibly face humiliation. Congratulations Bill, you should be thrilled with the turnout. Amazing.
I think you mean Mayor DeLena Johnson.
I’m excited that Bill Stoltze is running to be my senator. While I support the Palmer mayor and voted for her as mayor, she’s no Bill Stoltze. Bill has the experience and know how to make a difference for the Valley. I also believe that his conservativ stands mirror the district better than Ms. Johnson’s more left of center ideology. Looking forward to making a contribution to Bill Stoltze, our next senator.
Congrats to Rep. Stoltze, he will make a mighty fine State Senator.