Alaska Downsizes Its Washington, D.C., Office

Gov. Bill Walker is downsizing Alaska’s office in Washington, D.C., and will help fill in the gaps himself, with his Cabinet members and Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott.

Walker announced last month he was firing the director of the Washington office, Kip Knudson, as well as associate directors Nathan Butzlaff and Thomas Crafford.

At the time, Walker’s spokeswoman, Katie Marquette, said Knudson’s replacement would be announced the same week. But, she said in an email this week: “Plans changed.”

Now, Walker plans to give Butzlaff a 10 percent raise and leave Knudson’s and Crafford’s positions empty — a move that should save the state more than $400,000 each year as Alaska grapples with a $3 billion budget deficit.