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Dems won't vote on three names for Senate seat
Posted by Alaska_Politics
State Senate Democrats are refusing to vote on the three names that Gov. Sarah Palin forwarded as appointees for the open Senate seat. They obtained a legal opinion this morning saying it is illegal for Palin to submit more than one name.
“There is nothing for us to vote on, there is no appointment,” said Senate Judiciary Chairman Hollis French, an Anchorage Democrat. “The governor has taken an unusual course which is outside the law and leaves us no choice but to ignore what she‘s done.”
The governor’s attorney general appointee, Wayne Anthony Ross, said in response that he needs to review the legal opinion by Pam Finley, revisor of statutes, But Ross said he believes what Palin did was legal and appropriate.
Palin surprised lawmakers Tuesday night by forwarding the names of three appointees to the single open state Senate seat. Two of them,
Tim Grussendorf and Joe Nelson, have already been rejected by the Senate Democrats. The third, Alan Wilson, is a Juneau contractor who became a Democrat on March 4, and was previously registered nonpartisan.
Palin must appoint a Democrat from Juneau to the seat, which opened when longtime Juneau Democratic Sen. Kim Elton resigned for an Obama administration job.
Her pick requires approval of a majority of the nine state Senate Democrats.