Retired Colonel Laurie Hummel filed on Tuesday with the Alaska Public Offices Commission to run for the Alaska state House against Republican Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux. Her district includes the east side of Anchorage, including Elmendorf Air Force Base.
Hummel is a Democrat. She wasn’t immediately available for comment.
“Our state government should be creating opportunity for Alaskans, not thwarting it,” she wrote in a release. “The legislature is about to drive the state off a fiscal cliff, and this cannot be allowed to happen. I am experienced in developing solutions to complex problems, and working in pressure-filled and resource constrained environments.”
That last part may be an understatement. According to Hummel’s bio, she moved to Alaska in 1996 when she was posted to Elmendorf as Alaskan Command’s Chief of Operations Intelligence. She has served as a policy developer and consultant for various defense agencies, and was part of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, “providing assistance to the leaders of Afghanistan’s fledgling military academy and helping guide that institution toward its first admission of women in 2012,” she wrote.
And that’s not all: She’s a tenured professor at West Point, where she taught in the Geography and Environmental Engineering departments.
She retired as colonel in 2012.
Correction: An earlier version of this story said that Hummel was running against Rep. Andy Josephson.
Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com
germany was one of the great places i had the opertunity to go with some good friends of mine way back in the years of 1997. upon arriving there we as edgucators knew alot about deversity and many different cultures as germany has -it – was some-what like rome italy of course both are very wonderful. the great mountains and the country sides were just majestic. we traveld the old castles that sat upon the old hill sides -one could only emagen the real-bid fire places inside tose tall and majestic german strongholds of long -long -ago. when we arived in hamberg we were approached by several young peddlers selling glass-cut hummel figurines, some were made -out of cut diamond -glass and others were made -out of porcalin-i and my friends could not resist the figurines as they were so beutiful. our other stops were the battle grounds that left thousands of others trying to cope with the terrible times of -ADOLF HITLERS -14-million man army and some things we also so of MUSILINI were the great march’es had taken place and demostrations. but it was real very brutaly cold in hamberg on that day and it was so very colds -that my beard had frozen very stiffs. but the next day we had a better time we went to a big polka-dance and enjoyed some great -authentic german culter dances. the music was just high -class and you as you would look-out from the windows could still see the mountain-tops and the great german -barbarian-barvarian -castles. it just reminded me of the early -early days when conguering was so bad. but i am writing a book at present about the most beutful world we know and that is our great country and deversity.
miss Hummel is definetly a very good political party person . her resume is not only -out-standing but excalent. I really enjoyed having the opertunity to review some of her writings. her good stances upon wanting to control a good goverment and up-grade the political office that she has ran for. we greatly admired her opinions on balancing the alaskin budget only to help the citizens of her juridiction. her great military back-ground of great military history as a military-leader-full-colonel . the fall of many countrys was -not because of a total misunderstanding but the cause of wanting a turn of the century thing.
Of all 40 house districts, nobody is more connected to their constituents as Gabrielle LeDoux. In the realm of public service, she has always been a hard worker and willing to listen to anyone with diverse viewpoints. She frequently walks the neighborhoods. We may not agree on every issue but she has earned our respect and our vote.
When I recently met her, intelligence oozed, but with that was a cool, calm, gutsy woman who wasn’t afraid of a political battle with Rep. LeDoux. She’ll be well prepared and we’re lucky to have her step into the arena on our behalf in Muldoon/East Anchorage.
Personally, I would hope candidates with this type of resume would run as independent candidates who would then refuse to join any permanent standing legislative caucus in order to break the back of the secretive “legislature within a legislature” that is the actual source of legislative power in Alaska. A few weeks ago the majority caucus met in secret at the Alyeska Resort. Who knows what was discussed or, more importantly, pre-determined?
I fear the phrase “supports our community” is now code for “spends our children’s future with no regard for them”. We literally cannot afford the caucus system any longer, a system based on absolving the legislature from the open meeting law and dependent on the basic quid pro quo of votes for budget items. Good luck to Ms. Hummel. .
Rep LeDoux has knocked on my door a couple of times. She’s very supportive of our community. Col Hummel might have an impressive military resume but Rep LeDoux has an impressive resume of public service that includes results for our community and neighborhoods. I think Hummel will run into some trouble in this race. LeDoux represents us well.
I actually live on the east side of town and voted for Andy Josephson. He’s a nice young man and I believe a lawyer. Ms. Hummel appears to be a well-educated and experienced individual as well. I feel very firtunate to live in a district that provides me with such competent and good choices to represent me in the legislature. Wish other districts had candidates of this caliber to choose from.