By State law the gov. of Alaska must choose a democrat to fill the seat of recently resigned dem state senator Kim Elton. The normal process is that the senior Dems in the legislature prepare a list or names of who they would approve, and the gov. chooses from that list the person that she presumably feels she could work best with.
The state party sent up one name, trying to force the governor's hand. She shunned that name and has instead choses Tim Grussendorf. And here is where the problems begin.
Gov. Sarah Palin has appointed legislative aide Tim Grussendorf to the state Senate seat that opened when Juneau Democrat Kim Elton resigned. It's a controversial pick that Grussendorf's own party says it will try to block.
Palin had to pick a Democrat from Juneau for the seat under state law. But Grussendorf was a registered Republican until just weeks ago, then switched to being a Democrat to qualify for the appointment. Grussendorf now needs a majority vote of the nine Democrats in the state Senate to approve his appointment. Anchorage Daily News
Sarah and Grussendorf see no problem with this and can't imagine why the Alaska Democrats are upset. And so the fight begins.
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