Mike Dunleavy (politician) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mike Dunleavy
Official portrait, 2019
12th Governor of Alaska
Incumbent
Assumed office December 3, 2018
Lieutenant	Kevin Meyer Nancy Dahlstrom
Preceded by	Bill Walker
Member of the Alaska Senate from the E district
In office January 15, 2013 – January 15, 2018
Preceded by	Redistricted
Succeeded by	Mike Shower
Constituency	District D (2013–2015)
Personal details
Born	Michael James Dunleavy (1961-05-05) May 5, 1961 (age 64) Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Rose Newlin
Children	3
Residence	Governor's Mansion
Education	Misericordia University (BA) University of Alaska Fairbanks (MEd)

Michael James Dunleavy (born May 5, 1961) is an American educator and politician serving as the 12th governor of Alaska since 2018. A Republican, he was a member of the Alaska Senate from 2013 to 2018. He defeated former U.S. senator Mark Begich in the 2018 gubernatorial election after incumbent governor Bill Walker dropped out of the race. He was reelected in 2022.

Early life, education, and teaching career

Dunleavy was born and raised in Scranton, Pennsylvania. After graduating from Scranton Central High School in 1979, he earned a Bachelor of Arts in history at Misericordia University in 1983. He earned his master's degree in education from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He moved to Alaska in 1983 and his first job was at a logging camp in Southeast Alaska. Later, Dunleavy pursued his dream of becoming a teacher. He earned his teacher's certificate, and then a master of education degree from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He spent nearly two decades in northwest Arctic communities working as a teacher, principal, and superintendent. Dunleavy's wife, Rose, is from the Kobuk River Valley community of Noorvik. They have three children – Maggie, Catherine, and Ceil – who were raised in both rural and urban Alaska. In 2004 Dunleavy and his family moved to Wasilla, where he owned an educational consulting firm and worked on a number of statewide educational projects. Before his election to the Alaska Senate, Dunleavy served on the Matanuska-Susitna Borough board, including two years as the board's president.

State legislative career

Dunleavy defeated incumbent state senator Linda Menard (redistricted from District G) in the District D August 28, 2012, Republican primary with 2,802 votes (57.42%). He was unopposed in the November 6 general election and won with 11,724 votes (94.24%) against write-in candidates.

Dunleavy held various committee positions during his first term. He served as chair of the Senate Labor & Commerce Committee, co-chair of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) Throughput Special Committee, vice-chair of the Senate Education Committee, the Senate Finance Committee, and a member of the Legislative Council.

In 2014, Dunleavy ran unopposed in the Republican primary election on August 19. He defeated Democratic nominee Warren Keogh in the November general election with 64.65% of the vote.

During his second term, Dunleavy was chair of the Senate Education Committee and a member of the Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Special Committee on Federal Overreach.

Dunleavy introduced multiple bills and resolutions to expand and enhance public charter schools, correspondence study programs, tax credits for educational contributions, and a constitutional amendment for the use of public education. He was successful with legislation in his second term, establishing Alaska's parental bill of rights.

In 2013, Dunleavy sponsored legislation to create Alaska's correspondence school allotment program (SB100). This program allowed parents of students enrolled in correspondence (homeschool) programs to use state education funds, called "allotments", for educational materials and services from public, private, or religious organizations. The legislation was passed in 2014 via an omnibus education package, HB278. Dunleavy's initiative aimed to increase educational flexibility for families, enabling them to tailor their children's education to better meet individual needs.

Governor of Alaska

Elections

2018

In 2017, Dunleavy announced he would run for governor in 2018 but abandoned the race in September 2017, citing heart problems. In December 2017 he announced his return to the race. He resigned his Senate seat effective January 15, 2018, to focus on his campaign. Retired United States Air Force lieutenant colonel Mike Shower was chosen as his successor by Governor Bill Walker and confirmed by the Alaska Senate caucus after numerous replacement candidates were rejected.

2022

In August 2021, Dunleavy announced his candidacy for reelection in 2022. He was reelected with 50.3% of the vote, becoming the first incumbent Republican governor of Alaska to be reelected since Jay Hammond in 1978 and the first Alaska governor of any political affiliation to be reelected since Tony Knowles in 1998.

Tenure

Dunleavy speaking in the governor's office, accompanied by members of his administration, on May 15, 2019.

Dunleavy meeting with residents at a meeting regarding the Deshka Landing Fire in 2019.

Dunleavy and Kevin Meyer were the Republican nominees for governor and lieutenant governor of Alaska, respectively, and were elected in the November 2018 general election. Dunleavy was sworn in on December 3, 2018. He appointed Kevin Clarkson to be Alaska attorney general.

Earthquake

A massive 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck Southcentral Alaska on November 30, three days before Dunleavy took office, causing significant damage throughout the region. Within hours, he and his team assessed the situation at the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) alongside the outgoing administration of Governor Bill Walker. On December 31, Dunleavy returned to the State Emergency Operations Center to personally thank the SEOC staff for their service.

On January 3, 2019, Dunleavy requested a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration for federal assistance to Alaska. He thanked President Donald Trump for approving the request for disaster assistance on January 31. Dunleavy sponsored the Disaster Relief Act of 2019 during the legislative session to assist with response, recovery, and relief efforts after the earthquake. The bill passed the legislature and was signed into law on April 5, 2019. Dunleavy said: "This bill is going to be very important for Alaska – Southcentral Alaska – to make sure we get our bridges and roads up to speed. As springtime continues to uncover potential infrastructure issues, this relief money is going to help tremendously."

Wildfires

In August 2019, Dunleavy issued a disaster declaration as a result of multiple wildfires in Alaska. 2.6 million acres burned that summer. "This declaration frees up financial assistance to help the victims of these devastating fires begin to rebuild their lives as quickly as possible", he said.

Budget

On June 28, 2019, Dunleavy exercised line-item veto authority as governor to make cuts of $433 million, including a cut of $130 million (41%) of state contributions to the University of Alaska.

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In September 2020, Dunleavy agreed to reimburse the state $2,800 for allegedly partisan advertisements that were paid for with state funds. Dunleavy did not admit to wrongdoing, but stated that it was in the best interest of the state to resolve the allegations.

On September 6, 2022, a complaint was filed against Dunleavy alleging that his campaign was paying staffers with state funds.

In 2023, one of Dunleavy's advisors, Jeremy Cubas, resigned after inflammatory statements he made on his podcast became common knowledge.

Job approval

Governor Mike Dunleavy's State of the State before the Alaska State Legislature in 2020

A 2021 Morning Consult poll listed Dunleavy among the top 16 most popular governors in the United States.

In 2023, a Morning Consult poll showed Dunleavy as the fifth-most popular governor, with a job approval rating of 63%.

Recall attempt

On July 15, 2019, an effort to recall Dunleavy began after a public backlash over his cuts to public assistance, education and the University of Alaska ($135 million cut to state funding, about a 41% reduction). It was the second recall petition against a governor in Alaska history, the first being the failed petition against Governor Wally Hickel. Had the recall election been successful, Lieutenant Governor Kevin Meyer would have become governor.

To have the petition certified by the Division of Elections, the petitioners were first required to submit 28,501 signatures (approximately 10% of the voting population in Alaska's last general election). On September 5, 2019, volunteers submitted 49,006 petition signatures. On November 4, 2019, the Division of Elections declined to certify the recall petition after the Alaska attorney general Kevin Clarkson, a Dunleavy appointee, issued a legal opinion. Clarkson acknowledged that the petitioners had submitted enough signatures and paid the necessary fees, but asserted that "the four allegations against the governor 'fail to meet any of the listed grounds for recall—neglect of duty, incompetence, or lack of fitness'". The petitioners said they would appeal the division's decision.

In January 2020, Anchorage Superior Court Judge Eric Aarseth rejected the division's decision not to certify the recall petition. The state appealed Aarseth's ruling to the Alaska Supreme Court, which on May 8 affirmed that the recall effort could proceed.

The "Recall Dunleavy" effort failed to submit enough signatures to trigger a recall election in November 2020 or in 2021. Dunleavy won a second term as governor in November 2022 as part of the usual electoral process, making him the first governor to be reelected since Tony Knowles in 1998, and the first Republican governor to be reelected since Jay Hammond in 1978.

Political positions

COVID-19

On March 11, 2020, Dunleavy's office declared a state of emergency to ensure all entities had the necessary response resources a day before the first case arrived via a foreign national in Anchorage.

On March 13, 2020, Dunleavy ordered public schools to close from March 16 to 30.

In April 2020, Dunleavy activated the State Emergency Operations Center under Alaska's Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. Joint Task Force-Alaska was stood up to provide a coordinated effort for the Alaska Army and Air National Guard, the Alaska State Defense Force, and the Alaska Naval Militia to support the state.

On May 19, 2020, Dunleavy announced the lifting of all state mandates for businesses and public gatherings, keeping only a mandatory (but unenforced) quarantine period for persons coming from out of state.

In June 2020, Dunleavy announced a new extension of the two-week quarantine measure that required visitors to Alaska to present a negative test for the virus if they were not willing to self-quarantine for two weeks.

In April 2021, Dunleavy announced that Alaska would offer free vaccinations to tourists at major airports starting June 1, 2021, as part of the United States' vaccination campaign.

On October 8, 2021, Dunleavy refused to issue another COVID-19 disaster declaration, thinking it unnecessary. "Exercising the Disaster Act does not give our team any more health tools than what they need and are using right now", he said, adding, "Masking is, as I have stated, a local issue best left to local leaders."

On October 15, 2021, Dunleavy clarified that he didn't endorse mask or vaccine mandates but wouldn't ban them either.

In November 2021, Dunleavy ordered state agencies to ignore federal vaccine mandates, arguing that they were "unconstitutional" and "completely unnecessary," claiming that Alaska had handled COVID better than nearly every other state.

Environment

Dunleavy rejects the scientific consensus on climate change. In February 2019, he abolished Alaska's climate change task force, a team instated by Bill Walker, calling it unnecessary.

In September 2019, during a meeting at the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds with Mark Gordon, Dunleavy said that warming the Arctic could be good for Alaska, believing that it could create further business opportunities. In October 2019, Dunleavy clashed with Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter over the Green New Deal proposal, saying that the Green New Deal would impact our civilization as we know it.

In September 2020, Dunleavy expressed support for renewable energy ideas: "I know there’s a view on the part of some that a Republican governor that is supportive of Alaska’s resource extraction industries, including those around fossil fuels, would not want anything to do with renewables” and "It makes total sense to explore pumped hydro, using wind as a main source of energy and the reservoir as the batteries."

In February 2022, Dunleavy denounced the Biden Administration's request for suspension of the Ambler Road Project: "The Biden Administration has opened yet another front in its war on Alaska. You would think President Biden would want to improve access to American sources of copper and other strategic minerals that are needed in our combined efforts to increase renewables. Instead, actions like this only serve to push development to Third World nations that don't have the environmental ethic that Alaskans have. This pendulum swing away from the last federal administration's approval disregards extensive environmental studies and widespread social engagement while creating instability in long-term investment."

Dunleavy has encouraged the United States Environmental Protection Agency to approve the permit for Pebble Mine, which other Alaska politicians oppose because it would threaten the fishery of Bristol Bay.

Immigration

In May 2022, Dunleavy expressed opposition to the termination of Title 42 by the Center for Disease Control: "The Termination Order is detrimental to the states tasked with enforcing immigration standards, and it is not logically appropriate" and "This policy runs contrary to the Biden Administration’s other declarations because it is expressly premised on the decrease of COVID-19, but the Administration has ignored these facts by enforcing mandatory vaccination and mask mandates."

Voting rights

In January 2022, Dunleavy called on legislators to improve election integrity by prohibiting automatic voter registration, tracking absentee balloting, requiring signature verification, and implementing voter roll maintenance, saying, "We just want to make sure that as we move forward in Alaska that our concerns, our worries, are taken care of."

Electoral history

See also

In Spanish: Mike Dunleavy (político estadounidense) para niños