Gov. Parnell will name replacement for Sen. Therriault
Published Saturday, August 22, 2009
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Stumble It!FAIRBANKS — Republican leaders in the district represented by Sen. Gene Therriault, who is resigning next month, can forward the names of three possible replacements to Gov. Sean Parnell. The governor then has 30 days after the vacancy formally occurs to appoint a qualified replacement.
Therriault said he won’t be passing recommendations to the party.
“Those people who are interested, they need to make their case to the party,” he said.
Rep. John Coghill, R-North Pole, said he’s interested in the job but needs to consult his wife and consider a few other details before seeking approval from local Republicans. “I’m open to discussion, but I’d be willing to look at that very seriously,” Coghill said.
Coghill said he was pleased by the news that Therriault has taken a position in the Parnell administration.
“I like my senator and I think he’ll do well,” he said.
Rep. John Harris, R-Valdez, said he could fill in through the 2010 election, but he won’t run for the seat. He’s launched a campaign for governor and is committed to seeing that through, he said. Valdez is part of Senate District F represented by Therriault. The district spreads west past Chickaloon, off the Glenn Highway, and is more or less bordered on the east by the Richardson Highway.
Therriault was elected to the House of Representatives in 1992, where he served to 2000, including two terms as co-chairman of the Finance Committee. He was elected to the Senate in 2000, where he was president for a term and has continued to lead a Republican minority.
A new senator could sway the political makeup of the body, where Therriault glued together the four-person minority Republican group. Therriault was not invited to join the bipartisan majority.
He acknowledged his move could upset the power balance in the Senate, possibly even paving the way for a bipartisan body depending on who fills Therriault’s seat.
Coghill said if he did fill the seat, he would not organize with some members now in the 16-person Senate Bipartisan Working Group.
Former North Pole senator Mike Miller has also been mentioned as a potential candidate to fill the balance of Therriault’s term.
Community Discussion
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Coghill thinks he is qualified? Where did Coghill ever get such a huge ego? Not long ago Coghill was bragging about how he gave the now convicted felons with VECO access to his office based upon the cash they donated to his campaign. Then there is the member of Coghill's family that was given a job at Flint Hills that smacks of absolute conflict of interest based upon Coghill's support of a refinery that continually price gouges this community.
We need well educated leaders with vision, not good old boys who have created the mess we are in.
star_trails - I've got to agree - Coghill is dirtier than dirt - little but political mouth, hypocracy, and corruption. He learned politics on his daddy's knee. He sure isn't shy about angling for promotion. [Also see: advocacy for boarding school in [daddy's]Nenana, party town; '01 murder of Burke, Nenana's candy man (drug dealer to children), etc, etc]
I'm not happy about taking an elected official out [to serve in admin] and creating an appointable seat in the legislature, either.
I nominate Joe Balash. He was Gene's long time aide. A sharp guy, with positive idaes.
Um, do believe the Flint Hills issue was hashed out a LONG time ago and they had that job before he was elected to office. Didn't he get re-elected last time like 70%-30% over his opponent? I think NP seems to be happy with him.
Coghills qualifications consits of Nenana High School and Baptist Ceminary and thats it.
star_trails & Pearl -
You have no idea what you are talking about. I'd like for you to point out where you caught Coghill bragging about how he provided VECO executives access to his office. That is blatantly false and you should be called out for that crap. Coghill has spent 11 years in Juneau serving the North Pole community, spending 4-5 months a year away from family and you're on this blog knocking him for things he did not do. You're also going to knock his son for working at the refinery? Give me a break. Flint Hills is a major employer in the North Pole community and his son has been working there since before Coghill began his service in the legislature.
Coghill has carried the water on ethics reform because he epitomizes what it means to be ethical. He is bone honest - ask anyone who deals with him.
I'd sure appreciate some substance to the posts on the newsminer blog. Too many of you spend your time at home in your underwear at a computer with nothing better to do then sound off without providing any backup to your claims. What you do does nothing to make Fairbanks a better place to live.
Derek Miller
Sorry Derek, but I wear my cloths when I am at my computer as its not good practice to be sitting at the computer in front of the family in my underwear. Secondly what I said in my previous post is true. And last, it's just as much a lie and an insult to not report the news in this community.
Pearl--
When you are critical of an elected official accepting an administration appointment, is that the same way that you felt about Kim Elton, the Juneau Democratic State Senator, who left his elected position to work for BHO, creating the opening that became so controversial to fill? Or is yours more of a partisan criticism?
In the poison pen innuendo section of your comment, you mysteriously suggest murder and drugs? Do you have anything to back that up, or is that just another lying attack from an anonymous poster? That's the kind of inflammatory comment that would make Terrence Cole go nutty.
How about a direct quote from Coghill describing how the now convicted felons got better access to him based upon the money that they gave him:
"It certainly helps their access to me."
Coghill refused to return the VECO money he received unlike other legislators.
And, lastly, it helps if one knows how Coghill and his fellow VECO pals sabotaged PPT with amendments to screw Alaskans.
No wonder the FBI wanted to interview Coghill.
Coghill should retire. We need real leadership, not good old boys too stupid to understand how VECO was stealing our state government.
hey...what about me!
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