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Lora Reinbold

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Lora Reinbold
Member of the Alaska Senate
from the G district
In office
January 15, 2019 – January 17, 2023
Preceded byAnna MacKinnon
Succeeded byCathy Giessel (Redistricting)
Member of the Alaska House of Representatives
In office
January 15, 2013 – January 15, 2019
Preceded byAnna Fairclough
Succeeded byKelly Merrick
Constituency26th (2013–2015)
14th (2015–2019)
Personal details
Born (1964-04-30) April 30, 1964 (age 60)
Fairbanks, Alaska, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseEric Reinbold
Children2
EducationUniversity of Alaska, Anchorage
Oral Roberts University (BS)
WebsiteOfficial website

Lora H. Reinbold (born April 30, 1964, in Fairbanks, Alaska)[1] is an American politician who was a member of the Alaska Senate. She was a member of the Alaska House from 2013 to 2019, representing District 26.[2] In 2018, Reinbold was elected to the Alaska State Senate representing the G district. She served in the State Senate from 2019 until retiring in 2023. From 2015 to the end of her tenure, Reinbold was the only member of the Alaska State Legislature unaffiliated with a caucus organization, as she was ejected from the Republican-led majority caucus in March 2015.[3]

Early life

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Reinbold was born in Fairbanks, Alaska in 1964.[1][4] Her family moved from Clear to Anchorage when she was about five years old. She graduated from East Anchorage High School in 1982.[4] Reinbold earned her BS in business administration from Oral Roberts University in 1987.[1][4] She also attended the University of Alaska Anchorage in 1985 and 2001.[4]

Career

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Health care

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Reinbold worked as an operations manager at Medical Park Family Care. She also worked as an office manager at NME Hospitals (now Tenet Healthcare), a district manager for Bristol Myers Squibb, and a salesperson for Johnson & Johnson/Centecor Pharmaceuticals.[4]

Legislature

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On March 13, 2015, Reinbold voted against an operating budget put forward by the House majority caucus, in violation of caucus rules. She argued that the draft budget did not make steep enough cuts to the University of Alaska system and was, in effect, not conservative enough.[5][6] On March 16, the Republican leadership of the state House (Speaker Mike Chenault, Craig Johnson, and Charisse Millett) removed Reinbold from the majority caucus for her vote and stripped her of most of her committee assignments. Her office staff was also cut from four to one.[7]

On April 27, 2015, Reinbold voted against the operating budget again. The dissenters left the majority caucus short of the three-fourths majority needed to approve tapping Alaska's budget reserve to cover a $3.2 million deficit.[8]

COVID-19

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COVID-19 diagnosis

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On October 12, 2021, Reinbold posted on her Facebook page that she had tested positive for COVID-19.[9]

Alaska Airlines ban

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In November 2020, Reinbold refused to resume wearing a mask after eating during a flight. An Alaska Airlines policy, as well as a federal regulation, required passengers to wear masks except while eating or drinking. She wrote on social media, "Mask bullies in full force on Alaskans Airlines- all because a scaredy cat Karen whined loudly and was a Tattle tail when I took my dumb worthless suffocating mask off, a bit longer than she wanted, for my food and drink." The airline's policy followed the Centers for Disease Control's recommendations. In April 2021, Alaska Airlines banned Reinbold from its flights, citing "her continued refusal to comply with employee instruction regarding the current mask policy."[10][11]

In April 2021, shortly after the ban, Reinbold traveled to Juneau overland through Canada and then by marine ferry.[11] In September 2021, Reinbold said she could not reach Juneau because the only other air route from Anchorage to Juneau (a Delta flight that connected in Seattle) is seasonal and discontinued that month; Alaska Airlines is the only carrier that makes the route year-round.[11] She sought permission to be excused from attending the legislative session.[11][12] In April 2023, Reinbold filed a lawsuit against Alaska Airlines and its employees citing a medical condition prevented her from following the mask requirement.[13] Her lawsuit was dismissed in February 2024.[14]

Promotion of COVID-19 disinformation and opposition to COVID-19 health measures

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Reinbold has frequently posted COVID-19 misinformation on Facebook, where she promotes the use of hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin and expresses vehement opposition to face-covering and vaccine mandates.[11] In November 2020, Reinbold said that she did not believe clinical evidence in support of masks' effectiveness at preventing the spread of COVID-19.[15] She disagreed with Governor Mike Dunleavy, who wrote, "It is lamentable that the good citizens of Eagle River and Chugiak are deprived of meaningful representation by the actions of the person holding the office of Senator." He continued, "I will not continue to subject the public resources of the State of Alaska to the mockery of a charade, disguised as public purpose." Reinbold has criticized Dunleavy for issuing pandemic-related disaster declarations during a period when the legislature was not in session, and has protested health restrictions imposed by local governments, airlines and the legislature, including mask requirements.[16]

Reinbold has also had combative exchanges with Alaska's health commissioner. As Senate Judiciary Committee chair, she held hearings highlighting testimony from witnesses who questioned masks' usefulness and the consequences of government emergency orders. Though the committee had no COVID-19-related legislation before it, the pandemic became a major focus in hearings.[17][16]

Despite the recommendations of Alaska health officials who have said that wearing masks and following measures like social distancing help slow the spread of COVID-19, Reinbold has accused Dunleavy's administration of being "wild" about what she termed "these experimental" COVID-19 vaccines and "bragging over 100,000 Alaskans have gotten them", and characterized the administration as seeking disaster declarations in order to get mass vaccination clinics.[17]

Removal of committee chairmanship and Capitol ban

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On March 8, 2021, Reinbold left a Senate subcommittee meeting after the chair told her that she was required to wear a mask. The next day, Capitol security escorted her out of a House Health and Social Services Committee meeting because she refused to wear a mask. She was banned from most of the Capitol until she follows the COVID-19 rules.[16]

On April 19, 2021, members of the Alaska Senate removed Reinbold as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee by a 17–1 vote.[18]

Elections

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2012 redistricting combined the Eagle River Valley and Southfork portions of former District 32 (represented by Republican Mike Hawker) and a portion of former District 17 (represented by Republican Anna Fairclough), creating a new District 26. Anna Fairclough, the new district's only incumbent resident, chose to run instead for a newly configured Senate seat, leaving the new District 26 seat open. Reinbold won the three-way August 28 Republican primary with 1,610 votes (46.15%),[19] and won the November 6 general election with 6,903 votes (72.53%) against Democratic nominee Roberta Goughnour.[20]

Personal life

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Reinbold is married to Eric Reinbold. They have two children.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Lora Reinbold". Juneau, Alaska: Alaska Legislature. 2013. Archived from the original on October 6, 2013. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  2. ^ "Representative Lora Reinbold's Biography". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
  3. ^ Forgey, Pat (March 27, 2015). "A caucus of one: After defiant budget vote, Rep. Lora Reinbold goes rogue". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Lora Reinbold". Alaska Legislature. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  5. ^ Gutierrez, Alex (March 13, 2015). "House Passes Leaner Operating Budget". Alaska Public Radio Network. Retrieved March 16, 2015.
  6. ^ "Reinbold says she's gotten strong support for budget stance". The Washington Times. March 13, 2015. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
  7. ^ Herz, Nathaniel (March 16, 2015). "Alaska House strips budget rebel of most of her committee assignments". Alaska Dispatch News. Retrieved March 16, 2015.
  8. ^ Buxton, Matt (April 28, 2015). "Budget up in the air as Alaska legislative session ends". Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
  9. ^ "GOP lawmaker, banned from flying Alaska Airlines over mask mandate, tests positive for coronavirus". Washington Post. October 14, 2021. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  10. ^ "Alaska Airlines bans Eagle River lawmaker for violating COVID-19 mask policy". Anchorage Daily News. April 25, 2021. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  11. ^ a b c d e Tim Fitzsimons, Alaska lawmaker banned by airline says she can't reach capital to vote, NBC (September 10, 2021).
  12. ^ "Banned from Alaska Airlines, state Sen. Lora Reinbold asks to be excused from votes at Capitol". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  13. ^ "Former Alaska legislator sues Alaska Airlines over mask-related ban". KTOO. April 25, 2023. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  14. ^ Brooks, James (February 13, 2024). "Federal judge dismisses lawsuit brought by former Alaska Sen. Reinbold against Alaska Airlines". Alaska Beacon. Alaska Public Media. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  15. ^ Jill Burke, Alaska state senator catches heat for anti-mask airline rant, KTUU, November 15, 2020. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
  16. ^ a b c Sen. Reinbold banned from most of Capitol until she follows COVID-19 rules, KTOO-TV, Andrew Kitchenman, March 10, 2021. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  17. ^ a b Alaska governor says lawmaker misrepresents virus response, Associated Press, Becky Bohrer, February 19, 2021. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
  18. ^ Kitchenman, rew; Media, Alaska Public; Juneau, KTOO- (April 19, 2021). "Senate votes to remove Reinbold as chair of Judiciary Committee". Alaska Public Media. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  19. ^ "State of Alaska 2012 Primary Election August 28, 2012 Official Results". Juneau, Alaska: State of Alaska Division of Elections. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
  20. ^ "State of Alaska 2012 General Election November 6, 2012 Official Results". Juneau, Alaska: State of Alaska Division of Elections. Retrieved October 25, 2013.

Notes

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1.^ These claims were made despite the fact that COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective, and no steps were skipped during the clinical trials.
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