Hollis S. French II is a Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 member of the Alaska Senate

Alaska Senate

The Alaska Senate is the upper house in the Alaska Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. The Senate consists of twenty members, each of whom represents an equal amount of districts with populations of about 31,347 people . Senators serve four-year terms, without term...

, representing the M district since 2003. The district covers the East Spenard

Spenard, Alaska

Spenard is a neighborhood in the Municipality of Anchorage, Alaska, United States and was historically a separate city from Anchorage. Spenard maintains the flavor of a separate community today, with "Spenardi Gras" being its primary community celebration that encourages a sense of solidarity and...

 and Turnagain/Inlet View

Cook Inlet

Cook Inlet stretches from the Gulf of Alaska to Anchorage in south-central Alaska. Cook Inlet branches into the Knik Arm and Turnagain Arm at its northern end, almost surrounding Anchorage....

 areas of Anchorage

Anchorage, Alaska

Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States...

. He is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

French is an attorney and a small business owner. He and his wife own and operate an apartment rental business. He and fellow Democratic state senator Bill Wielechowski have been very effective in the bi-partisan coalition with moderate Alaska Republicans in getting a fair share of Alaska's oil wealth.

Early life and education

French is a graduate of the University of Alaska, Anchorage (B.A. English) and of Cornell Law School

Cornell Law School

Cornell Law School, located in Ithaca, New York, is a graduate school of Cornell University and one of the five Ivy League law schools. The school confers three law degrees...

 (Juris doctor

Juris Doctor

Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...

). Before being elected to the state Senate, French was an assistant district attorney

District attorney

In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...

.

French has climbed Mt. McKinley to the summit twice. His father, Bob French, is a county commissioner in Summit County, Colorado

Summit County, Colorado

Summit County is the 19th most populous of the 64 counties of the state of Colorado of the United States. The county population was 23,538 at U.S. Census 2000. The county seat is Breckenridge...

.

Troopergate

In 2008, French was appointed by the Legislative Council to head an investigation into charges that Gov. Sarah Palin

Sarah Palin

Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...

 "abused her office to get the Alaska public safety commissioner, Walt Monegan

Walt Monegan

Walter Carleton "Walt" Monegan, III is the former Police Chief of Anchorage, Alaska and Public Safety Commissioner of Alaska. His dismissal in July 2008 by Alaska Governor Sarah Palin drew considerable attention, particularly after Palin's selection as the Vice-Presidential nominee for the...

, fired."

2010 gubernatorial campaign

On July 1, 2009, French announced that he filed a letter of intent with the Alaska Public Offices Commission to run for Governor of Alaska. On July 22, 2009, French made stops in Fairbanks and Anchorage to announce he is running for governor. The next day, he made a similar stop in Juneau. French, received 18,018 votes (38.81%) losing the Democratic primary to Ethan Berkowitz who received 22,607 votes (48.69%).

External links

• State Senator Hollis French official Alaska State Legislature site