Session: State Capitol, Room 119 Juneau, AK 99801-1182 Phone: (907) 465-4993 Fax: (907) 465-3872 Interim: 716 W 4th, Suite 500 Anchorage, AK 99501-2133 Phone: (907) 269-0200 Fax: (907) 269-0204

Pearce Announces Move to D.C.

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

It has been my privilege and honor to represent you and your West Anchorage neighbors in both the House and the Senate of the Alaska Legislature since 1984. It is therefore with some sadness that I announce that I will not be returning to the Senate when the Legislature reconvenes in Juneau next January.

While I am sad at ending my time as your voice in the Alaska State Legislature, I am pleased to announce that I will be able to continue serving you, and all Alaskans, in a new government position. I will be working in the Secretary's Office of the U.S. Department of the Interior as Senior Advisor for Alaska Affairs to Secretary Gail Norton. I am excited by the challenges of this new position. I will be able to draw on all my experience to help guide the decisions of the federal department with arguably the most direct impact on Alaska.

Under procedures set out in the Alaska Constitution, the governor will have 30 days to select a replacement from a list of three candidates nominated by the District F Republican Committee. That person's term in the state Senate would end at the start of the 23rd Alaska Legislature in January 2003.

I would like to thank all of the voters of West Anchorage for electing me to represent you over the past 17 years. I also want to thank all of you who worked with me to make our community a better place to live. I am proud of the improvements we have made in our neighborhoods. I'm also especially proud of my work on issues as diverse as teen pregnancy, oil spill prevention and cleanup, marine safety and oil and gas leasing policy.

As I leave elected service, I hope that my time in office will have served to show young women and men that public service is an honorable calling in which they can make a real difference. I hope that I have inspired some to run for office in the future and serve Alaska themselves. I am proud that Alyce Hanley and I were the first two women elected to represent a single district in Alaska, and I'm proud that while I have served, women - including me - have served in every leadership position the Legislature has to offer.

Alaska will always be home. While Tate Hanna, Michael, and I will sorely miss living here year-round, we look forward to visiting often during my term with Department of Interior. When my time in Washington is through, we plan to follow our hearts home to Alaska once again.

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