Ivy Spohnholz

Ivy Spohnholz (born January 17, 1973) is a Democratic member of the Alaska House of Representatives, serving the 16th district. She has served since March 10, 2016, after being appointed by Governor Bill Walker to fill the vacancy caused by the death of longtime Representative Max Gruenberg on February 14, 2016.[1][2] She was elected to a full term on November 8, 2016, with 51.52% of the vote, a 10-point margin over Republican Don Hadley.[3][4] She was reelected to State House for a second time in 2018 with 55.1% of the vote, an 11-point margin over Republican Stanley Wright.[5]

Ivy Spohnholz
Member of the Alaska House of Representatives
from the 16th district
Assumed office
March 10, 2016 (2016-March-10)
Preceded byMax Gruenberg
Personal details
Born (1973-01-17) January 17, 1973
Nabesna, Alaska, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Troy Bowler
RelationsAnn Spohnholz (mother)
ChildrenIris, Kim, Maya
ResidenceAnchorage, Alaska
Alma materUniversity of Washington (B.A.)
University of Washington (E.M.P.A.)
OccupationLegislator
ProfessionNonprofit Executive
WebsiteCampaign website

Spohnholz chairs the Alaska House Labor and Commerce Committee, is Vice Chair of Energy and Health and Social Services Committees, and serves on Resources, Legislative Budget and Audit and Joint Armed Services Committees. To address Alaska's notoriously high health care costs, in 2018 Spohnholz passed landmark health care price transparency legislation requiring health care providers post their prices for consumers in public spaces and on their websites. In 2020, Spohnholz passed HB 29 expanding access to insurance coverage for telehealth care. Responding to the COVID-19 crisis, as the chair of the Labor and Commerce Committee Spohnholz passed HB 308 making it easier for Alaskans to access their unemployment insurance benefits in just six days.[6]

Spohnholz lives in East Anchorage with her husband, Troy, and their dog Spyke. They have three adult children Iris, Kim and Maya.

Early life

Ivy was born in 1973 in a log cabin in the tiny community of Nabesna, Alaska, near Slana, Alaska, and raised in Anchorage.

She attended Steller Secondary School in Anchorage and continued her education at the University of Washington where she received a Bachelors of Arts in Political Science in 1997 and a Masters of Public Administration in 2014.

Prior to her appointment to the Alaska House of Representatives, she was Director of Development for The Salvation Army in Alaska.[7] Spohnholz has volunteered extensively including serving on the boards of directors for the Alaska Children's Trust and YWCA Alaska. She and her husband Troy have also been foster parents.[8]

Ivy's mother, Ann Spohnholz (b. April 18, 1950), was appointed by Governor Steve Cowper to temporarily hold seat 13a in the Alaska House, while a disputed close election between Democrat David Finkelstein and incumbent Brad Bradley, was done over. She held the office from January 1989 to April 1989, when Finkelstein was elected. In 1990, she ran against seat 13b incumbent, Terry Martin, who won his 7th of 10 House terms by only 25 votes. In 1996, she won the open primary for seat 21 by one vote over Sharon Cissna, but was defeated by Republican Joe Ryan, who took 47.82%, by 23 votes. Cissna beat Ryan two years later.[9] Her father, Ron Spohnholz, was a police officer with Anchorage Police Department before retiring.

References
  1. Kitchenman, Andrew (March 8, 2016). "Ivy Spohnholz named to fill vacant Gruenberg seat". Alaska Public Media. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
  2. Herz, Nathaniel (February 14, 2016). "Longtime Alaska lawmaker Max Gruenberg passes away". Alaska Dispatch News. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
  3. Our Campaigns - Ivy Spohnholz, Our Campaigns. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  4. Alaska 16th State House District Results - Ivy Spohnholz Wins, New York Times, February 10, 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  5. https://ballotpedia.org/Ivy_Spohnholz
  6. https://www.alaskapublic.org/2020/03/24/alaska-legislature-eases-unemployment-insurance-benefit-rules-weighs-other-emergency-measures/
  7. "Representative Ivy Spohnholz". Alaska Legislature. March 10, 2016. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
  8. http://www.akleg.gov/basis/Member/Detail/31?code=spn
  9. Our Campaigns - Ann Spohnholz, Our Campaigns. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
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