JUNEAU — The Dunleavy administration’s new public face has plenty of experience in Washington, D.C.
On Monday, the governor’s office announced it has chosen Matt Shuckerow, deputy communications director and spokesperson for Sen. Dan Sullivan, as Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s new press secretary.
Before working for Alaska’s junior U.S. Senator, Shuckerow was communications director for Rep. Don Young and press secretary for Sen. Lisa Murkowski.
Reached by phone Monday evening, Shuckerow said he was packing ahead of his Jan. 2 start date. He said he will work out of the administration’s Anchorage offices but come to Juneau for the Legislative session.
Shuckerow was born on Kodiak Island and grew up in Anchorage, where he attended Dimond High School. According to his administration-provided biography, he has worked as deckhand and crew member aboard commercial fishing vessels in Prince William Sound.
Mary Ann Pruitt, the administration’s acting communications director, told the Daily News it would have to file a records request to obtain the amount of Shuckerow’s salary and benefits. The paper has filed that request, and it is also awaiting the results of records requests for the salaries of other Dunleavy administration officials.
Shuckerow replaces Austin Baird, press secretary for Gov. Bill Walker. When hired in 2017, Baird received a salary of $110,000.