Carl Eugene Moses (July 16, 1929 – April 30, 2014) was an American businessman fromUnalaska, Alaska who served in theAlaska House of Representatives from 1965 to 1973 as both aRepublican andDemocrat, and was elected again to the House in 1992 running on theAlaskan Independence Party ticket, later switched back to the Democrats, and served until 2007. Moses served a total of eleven full terms in the Alaska House, making him the longest-serving member in the history of that body.[1] In the 2006 primary election, Moses was defeated for renomination byBryce Edgmon, losing via acoin toss after the election results wound up in court and were later certified by the state of Alaska as ending in a tie vote.
Carl Eugene Moses was born on July 16, 1929, inSanta Cruz, California, of mixedAleut and German heritage.[2] He moved toPauloff Harbor, Alaska, in 1933. He attendedEdison Tech from 1954 to 1957, and theUniversity of Washington. He spent two years in theUnited States Army, and in 1960 moved toKing Cove, Alaska. In 1966 he moved to Unalaska, and started a business called Carl's Commercial Co., eventually including a store, hotel and bar, of which he was owner and operator; in 1977, this was to become Carl's Inc., of which he remained president.
Moses served on the King CoveCity Council from 1963 to 1964. In 1964 he was elected to the 12th Alaska House district as a Republican, defeating Democrat Niels P. Thomson 503 to 326 to replace Democratic incumbentArthur J. Harris[3] In 1966 he served a term on theAlaska Rural Housing Board, and was re-elected to the House over former Democratic State RepresentativeCharles J. Franz, 461 to 357.[4] In 1968 he again defeated Franz, 461-388.[5] By 1970, alienated like other Alaska Republicans such asWally Hickel by theNixon administration, he had switched to the Democratic Party, and was re-elected without opposition.[6] In 1972, after aredistricting, he was replaced by fellow Democratic incumbentEdward F. Naughton.[7] In 1973, he was appointed to a seat on theAlaska Department of Fish and Game Board.
In 1992, Moses was elected to the 40th House district on theAlaskan Independence Party ticket, defeating Democrat Dennis Robinson 1829 votes to 1600.[8] He switched his party affiliation back to the Democratic Party on May 24, 1994[9] (at around the same time that incumbent GovernorWally Hickel, also elected on the AIP ticket, returned to the Republicans), and continued to serve in the House, winning races as a Democrat with 87% of the vote or more[10] until the 2004 election, which he won with 2652 votes to 1527 for his Republican opponent.[11]
In August 2006, an ill Moses returned to Juneau to cast a critical vote that insured passage of a bill giving tax breaks to the oil industry, shortly after receiving campaign contributions fromBill Allen and five other VECO executives, the only Democrat to receive any from that source.[12]
In the 2006 Democraticprimary election for the House seat, Moses was tied withBryce Edgmon at 767 votes each. There was acoin toss to determine the winner, and Moses lost.[13] Moses ran a write-in campaign against Edgmon and Republican nominee Ron Bowers. Edgmon won, with 2020 votes to 950 for Moses and 812 for Bowers.[14] In 2019, Edgmon was elected by a bipartisan majority coalition as House Speaker and was the first Alaska Native to hold the position.[15]
Moses served from 1974 to 1978 asPresident ofThe Aleut Corporation.[16] In December 1978, a court ruled that Moses had orchestrated "inaccurate, false and misleading statements" during the April 1977 election forcorporate directors, and ordered a new election.[17] Moses eventually resigned his position as president, and was later sued by the Corporation for an alleged conspiracy involving unwise real estate purchases in a subdivision.[18] In 2008 Moses began a new term on the Corporation's board of directors.
Carl Moses died April 30, 2014, inSand Point, Alaska, at age 84.[19][20]
| Alaska House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Arthur J. Harris | Member of theAlaska House of Representatives from the 12th district 1965–1973 | Succeeded by Edward F. Naughton |
| Preceded by District created | Member of theAlaska House of Representatives from the 40th district 1993–2003 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of theAlaska House of Representatives from the 37th district 2003–2007 | Succeeded by |