Free Republic

Local leaders are welcoming Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell as the state's new governor, saying he should be good for the capital city and the state. "Sean has been a friend of Juneau for some time," said Sen. Dennis Egan, who has known Parnell for many years. A former Republican legislator from Anchorage, Parnell was co-chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee for part of the time Egan served as Juneau's mayor in the 1990s. Parnell represented Anchorage but never joined in the anti-Juneau sentiments expressed by some others from Anchorage and the Mat-Su, Egan said. "He was never that way...