Hollis S. French II (born October 11, 1958) is an American
attorney,
businessman
A businessperson, businessman, or businesswoman is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial or industrial) for the ...
and
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...
. He served in the
Alaska Senate from 2003 to 2015. He was minority leader from January 2014 until he left office. During this time, French authored an unsuccessful bill to strike down the state's same-sex marriage ban. He is a member of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
.
He applied for a state judgeship position in July 2015.
French is an attorney and he and his wife own and operate an apartment rental business.
French was appointed to the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission by Governor Bill Walker in July 2016.
Early life and education
French moved to Alaska in 1978. He first oil industry job began in 1979 when he was hired as a bullcook on Shell Platform "A" in Cook Inlet. Later, he worked in the Kuparuk Oilfield as a facility and drill site operator for ARCO Alaska while attending the
University of Alaska, Anchorage, from which he graduated with a bachelor's degree in English. He attended
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
Law School and graduated with a
Juris Doctor degree.
Before being elected to the state Senate, French was an assistant
district attorney.
French has climbed
Denali
Denali (; also known as Mount McKinley, its former official name) is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of above sea level. With a topographic prominence of and a topographic isolation of , Denali is the th ...
to the summit twice. His father, Bob French, is a county commissioner in
Summit County, Colorado.
Troopergate
In 2008, French was appointed by the Legislative Council to head an investigation into charges that Governor
Sarah Palin "abused her office to get the Alaska public safety commissioner,
Walt Monegan
Walter Carleton Monegan III (born May 1951) is an American politician and the former Police Chief of Anchorage, Alaska, and later Commissioner of Public Safety for the state of Alaska. His dismissal in July 2008 by Alaska governor Sarah Palin dre ...
, fired."
2010 gubernatorial campaign
On July 1, 2009, French announced that he had filed a letter of intent with the Alaska Public Offices Commission to run for
governor of Alaska. French received 18,018 votes (38.81%), losing the 2010 Democratic primary to former state representative
Ethan Berkowitz, who received 22,607 votes (48.69%).
2014 gubernatorial campaign
French initially decided to run again for governor in 2014, but later decided to run instead for
lieutenant governor. He won the Democratic nomination.
In September,
Byron Mallott
Byron Ivar Mallott (April 6, 1943 – May 8, 2020) was an American politician, elder, tribal activist and business executive from the state of Alaska. Mallott was an Alaska Native leader of Tlingit heritage and the leader of the Kwaash Ké K ...
, the Democratic nominee for governor, merged his campaign with that of
independent candidate Bill Walker Bill Walker may refer to:
Australian rules football
* Bill A. Walker (1886–1934), Australian rules footballer for Essendon
* Bill Walker (Australian footballer, born 1883) (1883–1971), Australian rules footballer for Fitzroy
* Bill J. V. Wal ...
. While Walker remained the gubernatorial candidate, Mallott ran for lieutenant governor as his
running mate
A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position (such as the vice presidential candidate running with a pr ...
. Both French and Walker's original running mate, Craig Fleener, withdrew their candidacies.
The Walker-Mallott ticket defeated that of incumbent Republican governor
Sean Parnell and his running mate,
Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan.
References
External links
*
Hollis Frenchat ''100 Years of Alaska's Legislature''
{{DEFAULTSORT:French, Hollis
1958 births
Living people
21st-century American politicians
Alaska lawyers
Democratic Party Alaska state senators
Episcopalians from Alaska
Businesspeople from Alaska
Cornell Law School alumni
People from Summit County, Colorado
Politicians from Anchorage, Alaska
Politicians from Newton, Massachusetts
University of Alaska Anchorage alumni