| Catherine A. Giessel | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Alaska Senate from the P district |
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 18 January 2011 |
|
| Preceded by | Con Bunde |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 9, 1951 Fairbanks, Alaska |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Richard |
| Children | Three |
| Alma mater | University of Michigan |
| Profession | Nurse |
| Website | http://cathygiessel.com/index.php |
Catherine A. "Cathy" Giessel, (née Bohms; born November 9, 1951)[1] is a Republican politician from the U.S. state of Alaska. Giessel currently serves as a member of the Alaska Senate representing District P, which covers portions of Anchorage and Eagle River near to Chugach State Park, eastern and southern reaches of the Anchorage Hillside, and the Turnagain Arm communities of Girdwood and Hope as well as Whittier. First elected in 2010 while self-identified with Tea Party values, she has also served as the vice-chair of the state Republican Party and held a career in nursing. Owing to redistricting, she is standing for reelection in 2012. She is a member of the 'Senate Minority' caucus.
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Giessel's father, Jerry Bohms, moved to Alaska in the late 1940s and worked for Wien Alaska Airlines - a predecessor to Wien Air Alaska - while her mother Ruth holds a degree from Gonzaga University School of Law and admitted both before the bars of Alaska and the United States Supreme Court.[2] Ruth Bohms was herself a candidate for a state Senate seat in the 1990s, running under the banner of the Alaskan Independence Party. Giessel graduated from Lathrop High School in Fairbanks and thereafter gained a Bachelor of Science in nursing from the University of Michigan before moving to Anchorage in 1974.[2]
She performed as an advanced nurse practitioner[3] across a variety of clinics in Anchorage and the North Slope Borough and continues to do healthcare consulting, and gained a master's degree in nursing from the University of Alaska Anchorage in 2000.[2] She has been on the Alaska Board of Nursing, serving five years as its chairperson, and also on the Alaska Healthcare Strategy Planning Council.[3] In 2010, she was named an 'exceptional leader' by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing.[3]
Before gaining her Senate seat, Giessel became the focus in 2008 of a campaign by Joe Miller to elevate her to the chair of the Republican Party of Alaska.[4] At the time she was vice-chair of the party, but the campaign failed and she stepped down from her position that year.[5] She was also on Sean Parnell's campaign team during his attempt to oust Republican Don Young from his hold of Alaska's congressional seat in 2008.[6]
Giessel sought to win Senate District P in 2010 when incumbent Republican Con Bunde decided to retire, and she faced two moderates in her party primary: Anchorage assemblywoman Jennifer Johnston and cardiologist Mark Moronell. Taking advantage of the split in the moderate vote, and possibly capitalizing on increased turnout on a parental notification initiative that she had lent her activism to, she won her party's nomination for the general election - 46% over 28% for Moronell and 25% for Johnston.[6]
In response to a questionnaire sent by the Alaska Family Action group, Giessel conveyed pro-life viewpoints, constitutional limits on benefits for same-sex couples and legislative blocks on the expansion of gambling excepting a referendum.[7] The Alaska Dispatch, which also referred to the district election 'as [what seems to be] the most important legislative race this year', said she identifies with Tea Party ideals but does not consider herself a Tea Party candidate.[6] Come November, she beat Democrat Janet Reiser and independent conservative Phil Dziubinski 49% to 39% and 12% respectively.[8]
Giessel has gained membership on the Senate committees on labour & commerce, state affairs, the finance subcommittee on the legislature, and she is also on the Joint In-State Gas Caucus. She is also aligned with the 'Senate Minority' caucus: a grouping of Republican senators who have rejected the dominant bipartisan 'Senate Majority' caucus.[3] In the 2011 mid-term Alaska Business Report Card - a grading system run by several Alaska business coalitions judging state officials on how favourable they are to the business community - Giessel received an A+, the only senator to receive the highest grade, and only one of five state legislators in both houses.[9]
Despite being elected in 2010 to serve a four-year term, subsequent redistricting has meant Giessel will now be facing a fresh election in 2012, for which she is standing - her new seat being District N.[10]
Giessel is married to Richard and has three children and several grandchildren.[2] She is a member of both the National Rifle Association - which has endorsed her run for re-election -[11] and the Second Amendment Sisters.[3] She received the Anchorage Republican Woman of the Year award in 2007.[3]