Former senator Mike Miller named to head Department of Administration

Petroleum News Alaska Staff

Gov. Frank Murkowski said Feb. 1 that he is appointing former state Sen. Mike Miller of North Pole to be his commissioner of the Department of Administration. Miller served 18 years in the Legislature, two of them as president of the Senate.

"Mike Miller has an excellent understanding of the many programs and issues the Department of Administration must deal with on a daily basis," Murkowski said. "Over the years, this department has become such a catch-all of programs that don't fit easily within other departments, so managing it takes someone with experience and flexibility. Mike Miller has shown the ability to do that. He is steady, deliberative, and knowledgeable. I look forward to him taking the helm at Administration."

Miller, 51, is a lifelong Alaskan who was born in Fairbanks and graduated from Monroe High School. He has attended the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Miller served in the Alaska Air National Guard. He is a businessman who heads up SCH Corp., the Santa Clause House in North Pole, which was first opened by his parents in 1952. He is married with two children and two grandchildren.

Miller served four years on the North Pole city council, 1976-80. He was elected to the state House in 1982 and served 10 years before being elected to the state Senate for two four-year terms. He served as Senate president in 1997-98. The Department of Administration provides various services to state government, including data processing and IT support; personnel and labor negotiating services; and retirement and benefits management. It also oversees a variety of programs, such as senior services, the public defenders, public broadcasting, motor vehicles, office of public advocacy, the public offices commission, and the oil and gas conservation commission.