Lisa A. Weissler

Capitol Crude: The Impact of Oil on Alaska Politics is the story of how oil and gas corporations' efforts to limit state taxation and regulation of their industry in Alaska led to a change in Alaskans’ political ideology and governance – from a state supportive of government investment in public welfare and infrastructure to a populace largely distrustful of their governing representatives and opposed to policies that would benefit their lives. Though this is an Alaska tale, Capitol Crude reflects the broader national struggle between corporate and public interests.

Lisa Weissler began her Alaska career in 1980 with a summer job as a forester with the U.S. Forest Service. Her career path took an opportune turn when she landed a job as a legislative assistant for the Alaska State Legislature in 1981. The jobs that followed, along with a law degree, gave Weissler a front row seat to Alaska’s journey as an oil state. As staff to lawmakers and as a state oil and gas and natural resource attorney, she witnessed and participated in the tumultuous years when the oil industry made its biggest impacts on Alaska politics. Capitol Crude: The Impact of Oil on Alaska Politics draws on Weissler’s decades of experience to provide a comprehensive history of how oil changed Alaska.