Cathy Giessel

She will serve as Senate majority leader in the 33rd Legislature, overseeing a coalition caucus of eight Republicans and nine Democrats.

Jerry Bohms arrived in Alaska in the late 1940s and worked for Wien Alaska Airlines (a predecessor to Wien Air Alaska).

Ruth Bohms holds a degree from Gonzaga University School of Law and was admitted before the bars of Alaska and the United States Supreme Court.

Catherine Andrea Giessel (née Bohms; born November 9, 1951) is a Republican politician from the U.S. state of Alaska, who has served as a member of the Alaska Senate since 2023 and from 2011 to 2021.

Cathy Giessel was born Catherine Andrea Bohms in Fairbanks, Alaska, on November 9, 1951, the oldest of three daughters (and four children overall) born to Gerald Johnson "Jerry" (1924–2002) and Ruth Odelia (née Bauer, born 1927) Bohms.

Giessel graduated from Lathrop High School in Fairbanks and thereafter gained a Bachelor of Science in nursing from the University of Michigan before moving to Anchorage in 1974.

Ruth Bohms was a candidate for the Alaska Legislature in 1992, running as an Alaskan Independence Party candidate for a Fairbanks-based seat in the Alaska House of Representatives.

She worked as an advanced nurse practitioner across a variety of clinics in Anchorage and the North Slope Borough and continues to do healthcare consulting, and gained a master's degree in nursing from the University of Alaska Anchorage in 2000.

She has been on the Alaska Board of Nursing, serving five years as its chairperson, and also on the Alaska Healthcare Strategy Planning Council.

Before gaining her Senate seat, Giessel served on Sean Parnell's campaign team during his race against Don Young during the Republican primary for Alaska's congressional seat in 2008.

First elected in 2010 while identifying with Tea Party values, she has also served as the vice-chair of the state Republican Party and had a career in nursing.

In 2010, she was named an 'exceptional leader' by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing.

Though elected in 2010 to serve a four-year term, redistricting led to her being up for election again in 2012 for a new senate seat serving District N. In the August Republican primary, Giessel defeated challenger Joe Arness by 67%.

She won the November general election, defeating Independent Ron Devon, the husband of Mudflats author Jeanne Devon, 58.8% to 40.7%.

She campaigned on the position of pro natural resource development, in-state gasline development, increased economic development, and oil tax reform.

Giessel ran for the Senate District P seat in 2010 when Republican incumbent Con Bunde retired after 18 years in the legislature, the last eight in the Senate.

She faced two moderates in her party primary: Anchorage assemblywoman Jennifer Johnston and cardiologist Mark Moronell.

Following redistricting, she was elected to a different senate seat in 2012.

Giessel serves as chair of the Resources Committee and is a member of the Senate Majority Caucus.

Though elected in 2012 following redistricting, a challenge to the newly drawn districts caused Giessel to be up for reelection again in 2014.

Giessel won the November general election, defeating Democratic challenger Harry Crawford Jr., 54.7% to 44.97%.

Increasing oil production through oil tax reform was a decisive issue during the 2012 election and became top priority for the new senate majority caucus that was formed subsequently.

Giessel was appointed to chair the Senate Resources committee which moved Governor Parnell's oil tax reform legislation and advanced the Alaska Stand-Alone Pipeline project.

From 2013 to 2021, Giessel represented District N in the Alaska Senate, including Northeast Anchorage, Anchorage Hillside and the Turnagain Arm communities of Bird, Girdwood, Indian, and Anchorage, all within the Municipality of Anchorage.

Due to the sharp fall of oil prices and Alaska's ensuing fiscal gap in 2015, the budget and curbing state spending became top priorities for the new senate majority caucus.

Education funding was another top priority for the caucus as well.

Giessel was up for reelection in 2016.

Due to all the previous issues resulting from redistricting, this would be the first time Giessel was eligible to have a 4-year term.

Giessel's initial Democratic challenger, local non-profit executive and advocate Hilary Morgan, dropped out of the senate race early in 2016.

Shortly before the filing deadline, longtime registered Democrat and President of the Alaska AFL-CIO, Vince Beltrami emerged, filing to run as an independent.

The race became one of the most expensive state senate races in Alaska history.

Giessel won the November general election, defeating challenger Vince Beltrami, 51.90% to 47.57%.

Giessel again campaigned on positions strongly supporting natural resource development, diversified economic development, right-sizing Alaska state government, the creation of a comprehensive plan to the state government's budget challenges, and again supported more school choice options for parents of K-12 students.

Due to the continued budget shortfall, further reductions in state spending continued as a top priority for the new senate majority caucus.

Other priorities of the caucus are plans to implement a state spending limit into law and review of formula driven programs to make additional reforms to the state's most costly programs to get the state budget under control.

Committee assignments

This time Giessel was elected to a 2-year seat that would be up again for reelection in 2016.

Giessel campaigned on the position of pro natural resource development, in-state gasline development, diversified economic development and supported more school choice options for parents of K-12 students.

After Senate President Pete Kelly was unseated in 2018, Giessel was elected president of the Alaska Senate, a post she held until 2021.

Giessel returned to the Alaska Senate in 2023, representing the newly configured District E after defeating incumbent Republican Roger Holland.