Mead Treadwell

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Mead Treadwell
13th Lieutenant Governor of Alaska
Incumbent
Assumed office
December 6, 2010
Governor Sean Parnell
Preceded by Craig Campbell
Personal details
Born Louis Mead Treadwell II
(1956-03-21) March 21, 1956
New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.
Political party Republican
Alma mater Yale University
Harvard University
Religion Roman Catholicism

Louis Mead Treadwell II (born March 21, 1956) is an American politician and the 13th and current Lieutenant Governor of Alaska. Treadwell is the former Chair of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission serving from 2006 to 2010.[1] He is a member of the Republican Party and a candidate for the 2014 US Senate Election.

Early life, education, and early career

Born to parents Timothy and Anne Treadwell in New Haven, Connecticut, Mead Treadwell grew up in the Sandy Hook section of Newtown, Connecticut where his father was the former first selectman of Newtown with the Timothy B. Treadwell Memorial Park named in his late father's honor. Treadwell attended Newtown Public Schools and attended Sandy Hook Elementary school, known for the 2012 mass shooting.[2][3] Treadwell attended high school at the boarding prep school, Hotchkiss, in Lakeville, Connecticut. He graduated in 1974 and was then accepted to Yale University.[4] In 1978, Treadwell graduated with his Bachelor of Arts in History. Later that year, he moved to Alaska to do an internship with U.S. Secretary of Interior Wally Hickel's run for Governor of Alaska. Hickel lost to incumbent Republican Governor Jay S. Hammond in a four-candidate general election. After that, he became a political reporter for the Anchorage Times.[5]

He then returned to the Continental U.S. where he attended Harvard University and graduated with his Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School in 1982.[6] After that, he was hired by Hickel's business company, Yukon Pacific Corporation, where he worked as Treasurer and later Vice President. Yukon Pacific was founded to investigate the possibility of building a trans-Alaska gas pipeline. Eventually Yukon Pacific was purchased by CSX in 1989.[5]

Early political career (1989-1994)

In the wake of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, Treadwell left Yukon and went to Cordova, Alaska to serve as the city's director of spill response. Cordova was badly impacted by the spill, which severely affected the area's fishing industry and disrupted the general ecology of the area. A September 1990 article in the Spartanburg Herald Journal praised the cleanup efforts, saying that they had come along "quite well".[7] Treadwell expressed optimism about the ecological rebound, cautioning that, while over half of beaches appeared normal and the quantity of commercial fish catches was exceptionally strong, the long-term effects of the spill would not be apparent for "years to come."[8] In a 2006 piece on National Public Radio, Treadwell stated that some harmful effects of the oil spill have persisted.[9]

Treadwell helped establish the Siberia Alaska Gateway Project of the Alaska State Chamber of Commerce which worked to open the US-Russia border with the Friendship Flight. He led two expeditions to Wrangel Island in 1990 and led a team of nuclear safety experts to the Bilibino Nuclear Power Plant in Chukotka in 1993. He hosted RADEX, the Arctic nations’ first circumpolar radiation release response exercise in 1994.

In 1990, incumbent one-term governor, Steve Cowper, decided not to seek re-election. Hickel decided to run as the nominee of the Alaskan Independence Party, and won with a plurality of 39% of the vote.[10] Hickel appointed Treadwell served as Deputy Commissioner of Alaska's Department of Environmental Conservation. He served in that position from 1991 to 1994 and continued to help the clean up of the spill. He wrote new oil spill prevention laws[11] and helped create the Department's Environmental Justice division.[12][13] He also represented the State of Alaska on U.S. Delegations in three circumpolar government groups: the eight-nation Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy, the Arctic Council, and the regional Governors’ Northern Forum. He joined Governor Hickel at the United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992.[14]

After Governor Hickel decided not to run for re-election in 1994, Treadwell served as a board member on the Alaska Science and Technology Foundation.[15] He is a member of the Alaska Siberia Research Center board. Treadwell was elected a Fellow National of the Explorers Club in 2002 and chairs the North Pacific Alaska Chapter of the Club.

Business career

Treadwell has been involved in numerous successful business ventures and is a prominent member of Alaska's business community. Treadwell is on the Board of Venture Ad Astra, which creates "remote sensing and location-based technologies for National Security, Position, Timing, Navigational Infrastructure, and Commercial Markets."[16] Treadwell played a role in the foundation of Digimarc, a digital watermarking technology provider ranked first on Forbes list of fastest growing tech companies in 2004.[17][18] He has also served as non-executive Chairman of Immersive Media Corporation (IMC), a company notable for developing the camera used for Google's Street View and Map Quest's 360 View services.[19][20]

Arctic Research Commission

Treadwell was appointed to the Commission in 2001, and was appointed by President George W. Bush to Chair in 2006. He has been called to testify before the United States Congress on several occasions.[1][21][22][23][24][25] On August 20, 2009, he was called before the Homeland Security Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, when it made a field trip to Alaska. During his testimony Treadwell warned that the recently announced moratorium on commercial fishing of the Beaufort Sea would fail if it were not matched by similar moratoriums by Canada and Russia.[1]

During this time, he also served as Senior Fellow of the Institute of the North, founded by Hickel, which was apart of the Alaska Pacific University. He served as the Institute’s first full-time Managing Director and Adjunct Professor of Business . Treadwell also did research at the Institute. He focused on strategic, defense, management, transportation, and telecommunications of Alaska. He is a co-author of Missile Defense, the Space Relationship, and the Twenty-First Century as well as lead author of Why the Arctic Matters, a Commonwealth North 2009 study.[26]

In 2008 Treadwell served as a delegate for Alaska in the 2008 Republican National Convention and served early on as co-chair of Mitt Romney's 2008 Presidential campaign in Alaska.[27]

Lieutenant governor of Alaska

In May 2010, Treadwell announced his intent to run for Lt. Governor of Alaska. He gave his primary reasons for running as frustration with an overbearing federal government, concern for the flagging Trans-Alaska Pipeline, and a need to diversify Alaska's economy through international trade. Treadwell won the August 24, 2010 Republican primary election with approximately 53% of the vote, a margin of more than 22% over his closest opponent, state Representative Jay Ramras. Following his primary campaign victory, Treadwell's campaign joined with that of incumbent Republican Governor Sean Parnell.[28]

Treadwell faced Diane E. Benson in the general election in November 2010. Parnell and Treadwell defeated their Democratic challengers by about twenty points.[29] Treadwell was sworn in as the Lieutenant Governor of Alaska on December 6, 2010.

2014 U.S. Senate election

Treadwell announced on December 1, 2012 at a Republican luncheon in Fairbanks, Alaska that he was forming an exploratory committee to seek the GOP nomination to challenge one-term incumbent Sen. Mark Begich.[30]

Treadwell filed for the U.S. Senate primary race on June 18, 2013, and officially held his campaign launch on September 12, 2013. Other candidates for the nomination include Joe Miller and Dan Sullivan.[31]

Personal life

Treadwell and his wife, Carol, had three children, two sons, Tim, Will, and a daughter, Natalie. Carol died in 2002 of cancer. Mead is active in the Catholic Church.[32]

External links

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Mead Treadwell (2009-08-20). "U.S. strategic interests in the age of an accessible Arctic … what we need to know and do now". United States Senate. Archived from the original on 2009-09-15. 
  2. "Lt. Gov. Treadwell stunned by killings at his childhood school". anchoragedailynews.com. December 14, 2012. Retrieved January 7, 2013. 
  3. "Alaska's Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell, native of Newtown: Better mental health system needed". post-gazette.com. December 16, 2012. Retrieved January 7, 2013. 
  4. ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Mead_Treadwell
  5. 5.0 5.1 "Lt. Governor Mead Treadwell Governor, American Polar Society". americanpolar.org. Retrieved January 7, 2013. 
  6. "PRIVATE INVESTMENT IN THE ARCTIC Mead Treadwell, Lieutenant Governor, State of Alaska". thechicagocouncil.org. Retrieved January 7, 2013. 
  7. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=9gQoAAAAIBAJ&sjid=O84EAAAAIBAJ&pg=6233,4003115&dq=mead+treadwell&hl=en
  8. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=9gQoAAAAIBAJ&sjid=O84EAAAAIBAJ&pg=6233,4003115&dq=mead+treadwell&hl=en
  9. "Valdez: The Damage Persists, 17 Years Later". npr.org. April 15, 2006. Retrieved January 7, 2013. 
  10. http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=24135
  11. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=AS&p_theme=as&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F78E52FADBE3E9F&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM
  12. http://www.adn.com/evos/stories/EV317.html
  13. "Mead Treadwell to run for lieutenant governor". alaskadispatch.com. May 7, 2010. Retrieved January 7, 2013. 
  14. http://www.arctic.gov/treadwell.html
  15. "Lt. Governor Meed Treadwell". aerostates.org. Retrieved January 7, 2013. 
  16. Venture Ad Astra, About http://www.ventureadastra.com/vaa-main/about.html
  17. US Arctic Research Commission; People; Former Commissioners http://www.arctic.gov/treadwell.html
  18. http://www.forbes.com/2004/01/30/cz_jy_0130fastesttechs04.html
  19. US Arctic Research Commission; People; Former Commissioners http://www.arctic.gov/treadwell.html
  20. The American Polar Society: Lt. Governor Mead Treadwell http://www.americanpolar.org/lt-governor-mead-treadwell/
  21. Mead Treadwell (2006-09-26). "Testimony by Mead Treadwell, Chair U.S. Arctic Research Commission". U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and the Committee on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 2009-09-12. 
  22. Mead Treadwell (2009-03-25). "Climate Change and the Arctic: New Frontiers of National Security". House Committee on Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 2009-09-15. 
  23. Mead Treadwell (2009-02-05). "Testimony by Mead Treadwell, Chair U.S. Arctic Research Commission "Improving Indian Health"". Indian Affairs Committee. Retrieved 2009-09-15. 
  24. Mead Treadwell (2009-06-24). "Testimony by Mead Treadwell, Chair U.S. Arctic Research Commission: "Is America Prepared For An Accessible Arctic?"". Senate Commerce Committee. Retrieved 2009-09-15. 
  25. Mead Treadwell (2008-07-16). "Testimony by Mead Treadwell, Chair U.S. Arctic Research Commission "Is America Prepared For An Accessible Arctic?"". Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation. Retrieved 2009-09-15. 
  26. "Official biography: Mead Treadwell". U.S. Arctic Research Commission. Archived from the original on 2009-09-15. 
  27. "Treadwell to run for lieutenant governor". anchoragedailynews.com. May 7, 2010. Retrieved January 7, 2013. 
  28. State of Alaska 2010 Primary Election: August 24, 2010 Official Results, http://www.elections.alaska.gov/results/10PRIM/data/results.htm
  29. Election Night 2010: Incumbents Parnell and Young Re-Elected, Possibly Murkowski APRN 3-10-2010
  30. "Alaska: Treadwell One Step Closer to Senate Bid". Roll Call. December 3, 2012. Retrieved December 3, 2012. 
  31. "Sullivan resigning as natural resources commissioner amid talk of US Senate bid". Anchorage Daily News. 12 September 2012. 
  32. Mead Treadwell official campaign biography http://www.treadwellalaska.com/home/Content/home/meet_mead_treadwell.cfm

Bibliography

Political offices
Preceded by
Craig Campbell
Lieutenant Governor of Alaska
2010–present
Incumbent
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