Scott Kendall
| Scott Kendall | |||
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| Basic facts | |||
| Role: | Former chief of staff | ||
| Location: | Anchorage, Alaska | ||
| Affiliation: | Republican | ||
| Education: | •Western Washington University •University of Washington School of Law | ||
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Scott Kendall is a Republican lawyer who works on campaigns in Alaska. He served as the chief of staff for Alaska Gov. Bill Walker (I) from 2016 to 2018.
Kendall previously worked on campaigns for Walker, Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, and was Alaska managing director for the consulting firm Black Rock Group.[1]
Career
Education and early career
After graduating from Western Washington University and the University of Washington School of Law, Kendall began working as a law clerk in the Alaska Court of Appeals.[1] In 2005, he began doing legal work in Alaska politics with Republican candidates for office. According to Alaska Public Media, he was an aide to former Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) and worked on campaigns for Gov. Bill Walker (I) and Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska).[2]
Lisa Murkowski U.S. Senate campaigns
2010 election
Kendall served as a legal representative for U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) in her bid for the Senate in 2010. Murkowski lost the primary election to a more conservative Republican, Joe Miller, but won the election through a write-in campaign. Miller challenged Murkowski's write-in ballots, and Kendall worked to defend Murkowski in the Alaska Supreme Court, which ruled that Murkowski had won the election.[3]
2016 election
Kendall again served as Murkowski's advisor and legal representative in 2016, when Murkowski ran for re-election against Miller and a number of other candidates. Kendall told The Hill in July 2015 that Murkowski's campaign intended to focus on her work as chair of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, saying, "There’s no committee in the entire Senate that’s more important to Alaska. ... Her focus is on making sure that Americans have access to Alaska’s energy resources, and their own."[4]
Black Rock Group
In 2015, Kendall joined the Black Rock Group—a Washington, D.C., consulting firm—as the group's Alaska managing director.[1]
Bill Walker chief of staff
Kendall served as Walker's chief of staff from 2016 to 2018, when Walker's administration ended. Kendall began working as Walker's chief of staff in December 2016, taking over the job from longtime Walker aide Jim Whitaker. When he was hired for the position, Kendall told Alaska Public Media that he viewed the position as one that required facilitating staff. He said, "I don’t need to be the smartest person in the room, but I like to facilitate decision-making to the right person at the right time. And I’ve always been able to kind of been able to bring people together to — I think — get to the right solutions."[2]
Chief of staff
- See also: Gubernatorial chiefs of staff
In 2017, Ballotpedia identified Scott Kendall as a gubernatorial chief of staff. A chief of staff is the lead staff member of an administration and is responsible for implementing the governor's agenda.
The role is both a managerial and advisory position, although specific duties vary by administration. The chief of staff typically has the following responsibilities, according to the National Governors Association (NGA):[5]
- Control access to the governor and manage the governor's calendar;
- Monitor the flow of information to the governor on policy issues;
- Oversee gubernatorial Cabinet and staff; and
- Manage and communicate the governor's policy agenda to the state legislature and the public.
In terms of policymaking, the NGA notes that a chief of staff is responsible for bringing policy and communications together: "The chief is responsible for overseeing the development of the governor’s policy agenda. The policy director or advisor is typically responsible for shaping the general concepts and specific details of the agenda with input from the communications director, policy staff and cabinet members. The chief often must take charge and bring the pieces together coherently."[5]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 LinkedIn, "Scott Kendall," accessed July 31, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Alaska Public Media, "Walker names Anchorage lawyer as new chief of staff," November 16, 2016
- ↑ The New York Times, "Fight Over Senate Seat Reaches Alaska Supreme Court," December 18, 2010
- ↑ The Hill, "Alaska’s senior senator eyes smoother reelection," July 28, 2015
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 National Governors Association, "The Many Roles of the Governor’s Chief of Staff," accessed April 20, 2021
