Journalist to join Palin's office in Washington, D.C.
Anchorage Daily News editorial page editor Larry Persily has been named to Gov. Sarah Palin's Washington, D.C., team.
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Persily is a former editor of the Juneau Empire, where he worked from 1990 to 1995. Prior to that he was at the Wrangell Sentinel newspaper for eight years. After leaving the Empire he started the Juneau weekly The Paper, which is now defunct. Other newspaper jobs in the state include stints with The Associated Press and the Anchorage Times, which also has ceased publishing.
Persily will serve in Washington as associate director for oil, gas, renewable energy, commerce and transportation. Persily will work for John Katz, director of the governor's D.C. office.
"The issues I'll be working on are issues I've spent years on," he said.
According to the governor's office those issues include the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, natural gas pipeline, outer continental shelf development, pipeline corrosion, international trade, Arctic Council, surface transportation, aviation, telecommunications, commerce, renewable energy and finance.
Persily acknowledged he and the Republican governor did not agree personally on all subjects.
"I'm a blue-collar Chicago Democrat, but the job isn't about politics," he said.
Palin had earlier announced the hiring of another journalist for the Washington team, Sam Bishop, Washington reporter for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, to handle fisheries, environment and natural resources issues.