Carl E. Moses
Carl Eugene Moses was an American businessman from Unalaska, Alaska who served in the Alaska [House of Representatives] from 1965 to 1973 as both a Republican and Democrat, and was elected again to the House in 1992 running on the Alaskan 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. In the 2006 primary election, Moses was defeated for renomination by Bryce Edgmon, losing via a coin toss after the election results wound up in court and were later certified by the state of Alaska as ending in a tie vote.
Early life
Carl Eugene Moses was born on July 16, 1929, in Santa Cruz, California, of mixed Aleut and German heritage. He moved to Pauloff Harbor, Alaska, in 1933. He attended Edison Tech from 1954 to 1957, and the University of Washington. He spent two years in the United States Army, and in 1960 moved to King 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.Political career
Moses served on the King Cove City 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 incumbent Arthur J. Harris In 1966 he served a term on the Alaska [Rural Housing Board], and was re-elected to the House over former Democratic State Representative Charles J. Franz, 461 to 357. In 1968 he again defeated Franz, 461-388. By 1970, alienated like other Alaska Republicans such as Wally Hickel by the Nixon administration, he had switched to the Democratic Party, and was re-elected without opposition. In 1972, after a redistricting, he was replaced by fellow Democratic incumbent Edward F. Naughton. In 1973, he was appointed to a seat on the Alaska Department of Fish and Game Board.Return to the House
In 1992, Moses was elected to the 40th House district on the Alaskan Independence Party ticket, defeating Democrat Dennis Robinson 1829 votes to 1600. He switched his party affiliation back to the Democratic Party on May 24, 1994, and continued to serve in the House, winning races as a Democrat with 87% of the vote or more until the 2004 election, which he won with 2652 votes to 1527 for his Republican opponent.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 from Bill Allen and five other VECO executives, the only Democrat to receive any from that source.