The Alaska Senate Democrats announced today that current press secretary Jeanne Devon will be departing at the end of the year and will be replaced by Noah Hanson, the long-time chief of staff for Senate Minority Leader Berta Gardner.
Devon, the former political blogger behind The Mudflats, served in the position for two years. She’ll be “leaving the position for new opportunities in her writing career,” according to the news release. Devon co-authored “The Blood of Patriots: How I Took Down an Anti-Government Militia with Beer, Bounty Hunting, and Badassery” with Bill Fulton, a vet turned FBI informant. The book details Fulton’s undercover efforts to take down Fairbanks militia leader Schaeffer Cox and has enjoyed excellent reviews (seriously, it’s great).
“It has been a joy to work with Jeanne for the past two years,” Gardner said in a prepared statement. “She has brought a unique and valuable political perspective and message that have supported our caucus well. We are very sad to see her leave, but wish her all the best in her new endeavors.”
Gardner has already announced plans to leave the Legislature after this session. Former Anchorage Assemblywoman Elvi Gray-Jackson has filed to run for the vacated seat as a Democrat.
Maybe Ms Devon will return to her best roots- drawing killer stick figures to illustrate her stories. She made a Lance Ito judge stick figure that could have been the real thing. Except it wasn’t Ito, but some other judge in Alaska.