29th Alaska Legislature LRS Report 16.176 February 23, 2016 LEGISLATIVE RESEARCH SERVICES (907) 465-3991 phone (907) 465-3908 fax research@akleg.gov Alaska State Legislators who have Died or Resigned While in Office Susan Haymes, Legislative Analyst You asked for a list of Alaska state legislators who gave died or resigned while in office. The attached table is a list of Alaska state legislators who have died or resigned from the Legislature while in office since statehood. We hope this is helpful. If you have questions or need additional information, please let us know. Alaska State Legislators who have Died or Resigned While in Office Legislature 1st (1959-1960) Governor: William Egan (D) 2nd (1961-1962) Governor: William Egan (D) 3rd (1963-1964) Governor: William Egan (D) 4th (1965-1966) Governor: William Egan (D) 5th (1967-1968) Governor: Walter Hickel (R) 6th (1969-1970) Governor: Keith Miller (R) 7th (1971-1972) Governor: William Egan (D) 8th (1973-1974) Governor: William Egan (D) Former Legislator Date of Death or Resignation Representative John L. Rader (D) April 27, 1959 Senator J. Earl Cooper (D) January 25, 1960 Senator Hubert A. Gilbert (D) January 25, 1960 Senator Robert "Bob" Giersdorf (D) January 29, 1960 Resignation (not adequate age for Senate) Senator William E. Beltz (D) November 21, 1960 Death Representative Arthur D. Johnson (R) December 8, 1961 Death Senator Elton E. Engstrom (R) January 30, 1963 Death Representative William H. Sanders (R) January 8, 1964 Appointment to Superior Court Representative Homer Moseley (D) January 31, 1966 Appointment to Director of Alcoholic Beverage Control Board Representative John L. Westdahl (D) February 18, 1968 Death Senator Bill M. Poland (D) March 6, 1970 Resignation Senator Howard C. Bradshaw (D) June 1, 1971 Resignation Senator Don Young (R) March 6, 1973 Appointment to U.S. House Senator Lowell Thomas, Jr. (R) December 2, 1974 Appointment to Lieutenant Governor Representative A. M. Saylors (R) December 20, 1974 Resignation Representative Andrew S. Warwick (R) December 9, 1974 Resignation Legislative Research Services Report 16.176, February 2016 Reason for Vacancy Appointment to Attorney General Appointment to Superior Court Appointment to Superior Court 1 of 4 Alaska State Legislators who have Died or Resigned While in Office Legislature 9th (1975-1976) Governor: Jay Hammond (R) 10th (1977-1978) Former Legislator Date of Death or Resignation Reason for Vacancy Senator W. I. "Bob" Palmer (R) November 30, 1974 Resignation Representative Edmund N. Orbeck (D) January 4, 1975 Resignation Representative Tom Fink (R) April 1, 1975 Resignation December 4, 1975 Death June 30, 1976 Resignation November 28, 1976 Resignation January 9, 1977 Resignation Representative Martin Seversen (D) March 11, 1977 (Rep. Seversen interim appointee from January 31, 1977 through March 11, 1977 during election recount; Nels Anderson, Jr. was sworn in March 11, 1977) Representative Keith W. Specking (R) April 25, 1977 Resignation Representative Bill Miles (D) October 15, 1980 Resignation Senator George H. Hohman, Jr. (D) February 5, 1982 Expulsion Representative Jack McBride (D) April 16, 1984 Death Senator Frank R. Ferguson (D) December 18, 1986 Resignation Senator Don Bennett (R) August 30, 1987 Death Representative Willard L. Bowman (D) Representative Helen M. Fischer (D) Representative Theodore G. Smith (D) Representative Ramona M. Kelley (D) Governor: Jay Hammond (R) 11th (1979-1980) Jay Hammond (R) 12th (1981-1982) Governor: Jay Hammond (R) 13th (1983-1984) Governor: Bill Sheffield (D) 15th (1987-1988) Governor: Steve Cowper (D) Legislative Research Services Report 16.176, February 2016 2 of 4 Alaska State Legislators who have Died or Resigned While in Office Legislature Date of Death or Resignation Reason for Vacancy Representative Ann Spohnholz (D) April 13, 1989 (Rep. Spohnholz interim appointee from January 19, 1989 through April 13, 1989 until run-off election could be held; David Finkelstein elected to fill seat on April 5, 1989) Representative Bette M. Cato (D) December 31, 1989 Resignation Representative C.E. "Swack" Swackhammer (D) June 1, 1990 Resignation (position as Homer city manager) Senator John B. "Jack" Coghill (R) December 3, 1990 Appointment to Lieutenant Governor Senator Bettye M. Fahrenkamp (D) August 12, 1991 Death Senator Lloyd Jones (R) June 1, 1992 Resignation Representative Eileen Panigeo MacLean (D) January 12, 1996 Resignation Senator Drue Pearce (R) June 18, 2001 Resignation (position within U.S. Dept. of Interior) Representative Lisa Murkowski (R) December 20, 2002 Appointment to U.S. Senate Senator Alan Austerman (R) February 10, 2003 Senator Robin L. Taylor (R) September 15, 2003 Representative Jim Whitaker (R) October 27, 2003 Senator Scott Ogan (R) August 25, 2004 Resignation (Fisheries post in Gov.'s Office) Resignation (position in Executive Branch) Election as Mayor of Fairbanks Resignation Representative Vic Kohring (R) July 19, 2007 Resignation 26th (2009-2010) Senator Kim Elton (D) March 2, 2009 Resignation (position within U.S. Dept. of Interior) Governor Sarah Palin (R) Resigned July 3, 2009 Governor Sean Parnell (R) Assumed Office July 26, 2009 Senator Gene Therriault (R) September 13, 2009 Resignation (position within Governor's Office) Representative Richard Foster (D) October 13, 2009 Death Representative Nancy Dahlstrom (R) May 31, 2010 Resignation (position within Governor's Office) 16th (1989-1990) Governor: Steve Cowper (D) 17th (1991-1992) Governor: Walter Hickel (R) 19th (1995-1996) Governor: Tony Knowles (D) 22nd (2001-2002) Governor: Tony Knowles (D) 23rd (2003-2004) Governor: Frank Murkowski (R) Former Legislator 25th (2007-2008) Governor: Sarah Palin (R) Legislative Research Services Report 16.176, February 2016 3 of 4 Alaska State Legislators who have Died or Resigned While in Office Legislature 27th (2011-2012) Former Legislator Date of Death or Resignation Reason for Vacancy Representative Carl Gatto (R) April 10, 2012 Death Representative Beth Kerttula (D) January 24, 2014 Resignation Representative Max Gruenberg (D) February 14, 2016 Death Governor Sean Parnell (R) 28th (2013-2014) Governor Sean Parnell (R) 29th (2015-2016) Governor Bill Walker (I) Sources: Alaska State Legislature Roster of Members, 1913-2013 , Legislative Affairs Agency, http://w3.legis.state.ak.us/docs/pdf/ROM-centennial.pdf ; Bill Action Status Inquiry System (BASIS). 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