Gov. Mike Dunleavy reported spending $116,000 on travel, including a trip to Asia to promote the gas line.
A window washer cleans windows on the Atwood Building in September 2023 in downtown Anchorage. The state of Alaska spent $29 million paying executive-level officials last year, an increase of roughly 9% compared to the year before, according toSpending on state executives, who include the governor and members of his cabinet, division heads and other key figures, has increased by more than 30% since 2019, Gov.
Mike Dunleavy’s first year in office. This year’s growth in spending on executive salaries was driven in part by a quirk in the state’s payroll calendar. Alaska state employees, who are paid every other week, received 27 paychecks last year, one more than the typical 26. That change alone accounts for a 3.8% bump in compensation across the board.went up 6.6% between the 2024 and 2025 fiscal years, from $6,848 per month to $7,300 per month. While most state employees’ pay is set through collective bargaining agreements, the salaries of the governor, lieutenant governor and department commissioners are set under stateby the State Officers Compensation Commission, which also sets the compensation of state lawmakers. The commission, whose members are selected by the governor and leaders of the House and Senate, last year proposed tyingthe recommendation, rendering it void for both themselves and members of the executive branch. The vote to reject the recommendation came two years after lawmakers approved the commission’s plan to raise lawmakers’ pay by 67% and commissioners’ pay by roughly 35%, after several years with no raises. The commission last set the governor’s pay at $176,000, commissioner pay at $168,000 and legislators’ pay at $84,000.Dozens of state officials earn more than the governor, including more than 30 who earned more than $200,000 in 2025. The highest-paid state officer was Frank Richards, president of the Alaska Gasline Development Corp. Richards took home $527,764, up 8% from the previous year. The second-highest paid state officer was Deven Mitchell, chief executive of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp., who took home $448,665, an increase of more than 12% over his 2024 compensation. The third-highest paid state officer was Pat Pitney, University of Alaska president, who was compensated $415,919 last year.Three other state officers earned over $300,000 last year — Alaska Housing Finance Corp. director Bryan Butcher, Alaska Railroad Corp. President William O’Leary and Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority Director Randy Ruaro.State data shows that travel by state executives went down last year compared to the year before, after Gov. Mike Dunleavy in May. But the savings were relatively minor compared to increases in salary costs — roughly $300,000 across state departments. Though travel by state executives overall was down, Dunleavy himself spent on travel last year as much as he spent in the previous two years combined.he is “not a big fan of traveling,” spent $116,000 on state-sponsored travel expenses in 2025, compared with just under $70,000 in 2024 and under $67,000 the year before that. His 2025 travel spending covered six trips to Washington, D.C.; a trip to the United Arab Emirates; and a trip to Taiwan, Thailand, South Korea and Japan to promote the sale of Alaska’s natural gas. He also went on several other trips to the Lower 48.It is not unprecedented for state executives to spend large sums on out-of-state travel to promote Alaska’s interests. In 2017, the former president of the Alaska Gasline Development Corp., Keith Meyer, spent more than $138,000 on travel, mostly to Asian countries, to promote the gas line project. Dunleavy reported spending just under $36,000 on the trip to Asia last year to promote the gas line. Richards, the current Gasline Development Corp. head, spent nearly $20,000 on the same trip. Dunleavy also reported traveling to the swearing-in of President Donald Trump in January, where he also attended what Trump called the “Make America Great Again victory rally” and an inaugural ball. He was accompanied on the trip by his chief of staff Tyson Gallagher, who reported spending more than $4,000 on the trip. Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom and her chief of staff Kelly Howell collectively spent more than $5,000 on a brief trip to Washington, D.C., in June to attend aIn addition to their annual compensation of $84,000, lawmakers with a home address not in Juneau were eligible for a per diem compensation of $332 for every day the Legislature was in session last year, up from $307 the previous year. The 8% increase — set by lawmakers — was the first since 2022, when the per diem compensation increased from $293 to $307. Lawmakers who claimed per diem for every session day last year took home just over $40,000 on top of their salaries. Travel by legislators was up significantly year-over-year, totaling more than $425,000 in 2025, compared with $285,000 the year before. More than half the travel expenses were incurred by the seven top spenders, who reside in rural parts of the state. Rep. Neal Foster, D-Nome, spent $56,182; House Speaker Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham, spent $44,234; Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, spent $39,487; Senate President Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak, spent $29,279; and Sen. Lyman Hoffman, D-Golovin, spent $21,320. Separately, lawmakers reported spending nearly $498,000 on relocation expenses last year, an increase of over 30% from the previous year.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Lola Young Tapped to Perform at 34th Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Oscar Viewing PartyLola Young has been tapped to perform at the 34th annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Oscar viewing party on March 15 in West Hollywood.
Read more »
Alaska storytellers will speak to the American dream as The Moth's Mainstage tour kicks off in AnchorageThe Moth brings 'American Dreams' to Anchorage, featuring two Alaska storytellers.
Read more »
Budget pitch to avoid sudden education layoffs presented to lawmakersEducation leaders across Alaska backed a bill changing how education is funded throughout Alaska, a formula which could provide more reliable funding for schools with uncertain class sizes every year.
Read more »
San Diego Humane society seeks donations for annual ‘wildlife baby shower'People are being asked to buy items such as soft bedding, specialized formula, feeding tools, pop-up habitats and baby bird diets from registries at Amazon,…
Read more »
'Good things happening': Fishers mayor delivers annual 'State of the City' address- I'm the In Your Community multimedia journalist for Hamilton County.
Read more »
A Better Community kicks off Black History Month with major partnership, annual event WednesdayJacqueline Aguilar joined KGUN 9 as a multimedia journalist in February of 2024.
Read more »