Haines Rep. Bill Thomas no longer has to court the Sitka vote, and Wrangell’s Peggy Wilson does. And Sen. Albert Kookesh still has an uphill election battle this fall.
The Alaska Redistricting Board today (5-14-12) approved “Option A,” reorganizing Southeast communities in a more familiar pattern. Sitka, Wrangell, and Petersburg — currently in House District 2 — will all join the new House District 33. Angoon, which is currently represented in the House by Haines’ Thomas, will also roll into the new House 33.
The new map means one big change in how House seats are paired up to create Senate districts: Angoon Senator Albert Kookesh’s “Ice Worm” district is gone. To remain in the senate, Kookesh will have to square off against Sitka Sen. Bert Stedman to represent Senate district “Q,” which includes both the new House 33, and Ketchikan’s House district, now know as House 34.
