JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - Longtime Alaska state Rep. Les Gara says he won’t seek re-election this year, becoming the latest lawmaker to announce retirement plans.
At least nine House members, including Gara, aren’t seeking re-election or are running for state Senate.
In the Senate, at least four members aren’t running again. One of them, Sen. Kevin Meyer, is running instead for lieutenant governor.
Gara, an Anchorage Democrat, says he has the energy to do the job a few more years. But he says he questioned whether he wanted to do it that long. He was first elected to the House in 2002.
He says 16 years in a row can be a bit wearing.
Gara says Zack Fields, one of the Democrats seeking his seat, would do a good job.
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