The Anchorage Assembly picked Gretchen Wehmhoff, a teacher at Chugiak High School and past political candidate, to fill an empty Assembly seat for Chugiak-Eagle River on Thursday.
:quality(70)/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-adn.s3.amazonaws.com/public/XJKFB2GY25DHRG4FSF3J3WJ7RM.JPG)
Wehmhoff replaces Assemblywoman Amy Demboski, who recently resigned to take a job as deputy chief of staff for Gov. Mike Dunleavy. The Assembly picked Wehmhoff over 11 other people who applied for the seat, including Bill Starr, a former three-term Assemblyman for Chugiak-Eagle River.
Wehmhoff unsuccessfully ran for state House as a Democrat in 2014 and 2016. In 2017, she ran for an open Assembly seat in a nonpartisan race. She lost to Assemblyman Fred Dyson by a wide margin.
Wehmhoff has served on the Birchwood Community Council and has also been active in Girl Scouts.
Her appointment will end once the results of the upcoming April election are certified.