A House Divided

By Lexington Souers

Pennsylvania and Virginia, much like Congress, have split chambers with the House and Senate led by each respective party. Five other states — Alaska, Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota and New Hampshire — have a near or total party split within either one or both chambers. 

With split chambers, legislators face unique challenges when compromising and collaborating on legislation. 

The 49th state, with thriving waterways, sweeping mountain views and distinct detachment from the contiguous U.S., has a history of coalition building, according to Alaska House Minority Leader Calvin Schrage. Because parties lack a definite voting majority or minority, Alaskan legislators join across party lines, creating coalitions made up of likeminded individuals, with more emphasis placed on values and fiscal policy. 

“It’s not trying to necessarily achieve a party agenda but trying to meet your unique needs in unique districts. When you then try and form a majority or minority around the party issues, it just doesn’t work,” Rep. Schrage said. “So you see a lot of work going into trying to find what values and what issues can we find a majority support around. That’s where in the last Legislature, and in this Legislature, we have coalition governments that are formed much more around values and fiscal policy than you do around party identity.” 

Rep. Cathy Tilton, Alaska’s House speaker, noted a bipartisan partnership allowed the Legislature to serve Alaskans effectively, especially because of Juneau’s geographical location, which may keep citizens from participating in traditional government activities. 

“Over the last several years, it’s taken a long time for the House, specifically, to organize because it’s so split,” Tilton said. “One of the goals was to organize in a timely manner because Alaskans are really frustrated with sending their representatives to Juneau. … Fortunately, we found alignment with the [Alaska House] Bush caucus, or the more rural partners, to organize. We’re able to do that on the second day of session.” 

The minority party is also comprised of Democrats, Republicans and independents, which Schrage credits as being “vital” to the legislative process. By uniting around shared values, rather than strict party identity, Schrage said the coalition can work together. However, he recognizes that each member has legislation they are passionate about, which may not align with the coalition as a whole. 

“If it’s something that support isn’t there, individual members need to do the work of finding a way to meet those diverse members where they are,” Schrage said. “For those issues, individual members have to do a lot of work and kind of figure out how they can tailor their legislation to meet that very unique political identity of the Alaskan Legislature. There’s a much greater appetite in Alaska to pass bills out across party lines, or across caucus lines. That’s just something that I think is inherent in a close Legislature like this. You don’t have votes to spare within your own caucus, and sometimes you’re going to have to work across those lines to find a path forward.” 

To do this, both Schrage and Tilton emphasize communication. 

“You do that with just respectful communication and bringing back respect to this institution, which means that we need to communicate with each other,” Tilton said. “We can agree to disagree. I may not support your bill and you may not support my bill. That’s okay. We can still work together.” 

— Rep. Cathy Tilton, Alaska House Speaker

Schrage noted how communication can assist with better understanding what values members align on and how those with differences can comfortably work together and make incremental progress. He added that communication also helps address potential roadblocks in legislation, which can be more easily achieved by straying from “typical political messaging” and clearly explaining bills to fellow legislators to find common ground. 

“See where there’s some alignment on those values and recognize that because the chamber is so split, you don’t have that kind of party strength that you might have in other states,” Schrage said. “We all really have to moderate our expectations and be willing to make incremental progress. Accept that and do not let perfect be the enemy of good.” 

— Rep. Calvin Schrage, alaska House Minority Leaders

From this communication, members build strong relationships, regardless of party identity. Tilton said the relationships she built led to some of her favorite memories from her time in the Legislature. Among them was her past work as House minority leader with Alaska Sen. Tom Begich, who was then Senate minority leader. Despite standing on opposite sides of the aisle, Tilton and Begich established a close relationship that helped meet the needs of the minority parties. 

“I don’t know that if you were out in the real world that you would have that opportunity to build a relationship, and what I would call it true friendship, with somebody who was on the other side of the aisle from you,” Tilton said. 

“Member-to-member communication” and relationships build trust and familiarity, according to Schrage. The role of legislator also allows him to meet and engage with individuals who are “experts in their fields.” The result of those relationships can lead to effective policy work and coalition building — both now and in the future. 

As speaker, Tilton said she recognizes her role as a “leader of leaders,” regardless of party identity. 

“I realize that my responsibility is to be the speaker of the entire House. I have to take in and listen to the needs of all of the members here,” Tilton said. “Because they were all elected in their districts to be a leader, just like I am that leader. Being a leader of leaders is a fine balance.” 

This balance often leads to compromise, which Tilton said can be difficult when “everyone has a different idea” of what major legislation like the annual budget will look like. These types of decisions can have a lasting impact on Alaska, which is why Tilton believes she — and those in similar positions — must make every effort to acknowledge the needs and wants of every member. 

Both Schrage and Tilton highlighted the importance of passing a budget that addresses the distinct financial challenges found in Alaska, like the reliance on natural resource revenue and the question of implementing broad taxes. 

“A lot of the discussion surrounding organization of the majority and minority caucuses are around what you view as the right fiscal solution for the state, so you don’t see a lot of compromise,” Schrage said. “As you face challenges, or as you see the need to negotiate on fiscal issues, the focus is really on consensus building, education and discussion. We have a large amount of time and energy focused around really making sure that members are communicated with and that everyone has an opportunity to speak to their districts’ needs, to be heard and to have a say in that process.” 

While the budget remains a complicated compromise, other legislation illustrated the benefits of bipartisan support. Schrage said Senate Bill 58, which extends postpartum Medicaid coverage to 12 months, is a key piece of bipartisan legislation. The relationship between respect and bipartisan success remains vital in this session and beyond, the speaker added. 

“I think we’ve done great things with the bills that we’ve had,” Tilton said. “But more than looking at creating laws, I think that it’s just important that you’re building good relationships. I think it goes back to how you have to be true to yourself and respect yourself, but you also need to respect the other person that you’re working with.”