Dunleavy sworn in as Alaska governor after location changes

Dunleavy sworn in as Alaska governor after location changes

Alaska has a new governor.

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy was sworn into office Monday, taking his oath in a school gym in the western Alaska city of Kotzebue after poor weather forced a change in plans the morning of the ceremony.

Dunleavy, a former teacher and school administrator who lived for years in Kotzebue, praised those who pulled together the “fantastic” ceremony on short notice. In rural Alaska, he said, “you make things work.”

Dunleavy had planned to be sworn in in the tiny Inupiat Eskimo community of Noorvik, which he said was chosen because it’s his wife Rose’s hometown and the two have fond memories of the years they spent living in rural Alaska.

He even initially planned to fly into Kotzebue and make a 65-mile trek by snowmobile to Noorvik.

But plans began to fall apart after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Anchorage on Friday, causing widespread damage to roadways in Alaska’s largest city and surrounding areas.

Dunleavy canceled the snowmobile trip and abbreviated his travel plans so he could focus on earthquake relief efforts. He instead intended to fly straight to Noorvik on Monday from Anchorage on a chartered flight.

Plans changed again when poor visibility at the small airport in Noorvik prompted Dunleavy’s plane to be diverted to Kotzebue, where supporters, unable to fly into Noorvik, were gathered, said Sarah Erkmann Ward, a spokeswoman for the transition team.

The judge who swore Dunleavy in was on the plane with him, and Kevin Meyer, who was sworn in as lieutenant governor, was already in Kotzebue.

Visibility began to improve late Monday morning amid lingering snow, meteorologist Jim Brader said. Dunleavy arrived in Noorvik later in the day for a community celebration.

It is unusual, but not unprecedented, for an Alaska governor to be sworn in outside the capital city of Juneau, though Dunleavy’s ceremony was the first to take place above the Arctic Circle.

In 2015, then-President Barack Obama visited Kotzebue to highlight climate change.

Dunleavy said the ceremony could have taken place anywhere, and he knew weather this time of year could pose a risk in traveling. But he said he wanted to come. Rural Alaska “has a special place in our heart,” he said.

Under the state constitution, a governor’s term begins at noon on the first Monday in December. Dunleavy was sworn in around 11:40 a.m.

Dunleavy, a Republican former state senator, won office by defeating Democratic former U.S. Sen. Mark Begich in November.

The incumbent, Gov. Bill Walker dropped his re-election bid in October, days after then-Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott resigned over what Walker described as an inappropriate overture to a woman. Walker, an independent, said he could not win a three-way race and offered qualified support for Begich.

Dunleavy has said that he was in close contact with Walker about the response to the earthquake. Walker has said he did not expect the recovery to be affected by the transition in administrations.

Walker and Lt. Gov. Valerie Davidson declined to attend the swearing in, to focus instead on helping reopen state facilities after the quake. Walker said he wished Dunleavy well.


Becky Bohrer is a reporter for the Associated Press.


Dunleavy sworn in as Alaska governor after location changes
Dunleavy sworn in as Alaska governor after location changes

More in News

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Aurora forecast through the week of Nov. 3

These forecasts are courtesy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute… Continue reading

Rep. Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham, speaks in favor of Senate Bill 48, the carbon credits bill, on Tuesday, May 16, 2023, in the Alaska House. At background is Department of Resources Commissioner John Boyle and staff supporting the bill. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
Alaska House control flips from predominantly Republican coalition to mostly Democratic coalition

Preliminary election results show the new House majority will have at least 22 members.

West Juneau homes on Douglas Island late Thursday afternoon. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
What will Trump as president again and a more liberal Alaska Legislature mean for Juneau?

Election appears to shake up federal and state governments in different ways, leaving lots of unknowns.

Aurelie Alexander photographs a helicopter hoisting cellular equipment onto the roof of the Marine View building at midday Wednesday. As a resident of the apartment/office building, she and others were notified to leave the building during the helicopter operation. (Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire)
Hovering around downtown for better phone service

New AT&T equipment installed atop Marine View Building joins other telecom upgrades downtown.

The Columbia is scheduled to replace the Kennicott on the mainline ferry route between Southeast Alaska and Bellingham, Washington, starting in mid-December. (Alaska Marine Highway System photo)
Proposed summer ferry schedule for 2025 remains much the same, with Columbia replacing Kennicott

Public comments being accepted until Nov. 12, with virtual meetings scheduled that day.

A simulated photo shows the tailings stack and other features of Hecla Greens Creek Mine under the final notice of decision for expanding the mine announced Thursday by the U.S Forest Service. The expansion will extend the life of the mine up to 18 years. (U.S. Forest Service)
Extending Greens Creek Mine production for 12 to 18 years gets final OK from Forest Service

Agency says there will also be more habitat protection measures and mine waste disposal capacity.

A sperm whale is seen in an undated photo published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (NOAA photo)
Southeast Alaska fisher could get six months in prison after attempting to kill sperm whale

Federal prosecutors are recommending that an Alaska fisher serve six months in… Continue reading

Voters at Anchorage City Hall wait in line to cast their ballots on Nov. 4, 2024, the day before Election Day. City Hall, in downtown Anchorage, was one of the designated early voting sites in the state’s largest city. (Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
No leaders change as 1,500 more ballots are added to Alaska’s election count

Almost 46,000 votes cast before Election Day remain uncounted, according to absentee and early vote figures.

Most Read