For the first time in several years, Alaska’s governor now has a regional office on the central peninsula.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s regional office opened Monday on the second floor of the Blazy Mall in Soldotna. Soldotna resident Jill Schaefer, in her first official position with the Dunleavy administration, is the new office director and what she called a “one-woman-show” overseeing the office’s daily operations. Schaefer called the office much-needed when she announced its opening to the Kenai and Soldotna Chambers of Commerce during a luncheon last Wednesday.

“It’ll be flexible office hours, and I’ll also be in the community as much as possible,” Schaefer said Wednesday.

In an email Tuesday, Dunleavy’s spokesperson Jeff Turner said that the Kenai office is the only new regional office being opened, and currently the governor has other regional offices in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, Palmer and Washington, D.C.

“The Kenai Peninsula is one of the most populated regions in the state and has not had a regional governor’s office for many years,” Turner said Tuesday. “The Dunleavy administration decided it is important to expand its presence and relationships with Alaskans that call the Kenai Peninsula home.”

Turner said that the new Soldotna office is being funded within the existing budget for the Office of the Governor, and a position from the Anchorage office was transferred to Soldotna.

The new office will give peninsula residents more of an opportunity to communicate directly with members of Dunleavy’s administration and “will act as a conduit for information on the governor’s policies and vision for the state,” Turner said. Part of Schaefer’s role as office director will be to relay the questions and concerns of peninsula residents directly to Dunleavy and his senior staff, Turner said.

“Jill Schaefer is a small business owner, former local elected official and a longtime resident of the Kenai Peninsula who is raising her family in Soldotna,” Turner said. “Jill is also a well-respected member of the Kenai Peninsula community and Governor Dunleavy is glad to have her on his team.”

Schaefer is a former member of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly, serving in 2017, and last year served as the regional co-chair of the OneAlaska – Vote No on 1 Initiative.

Gov. Dunleavy’s Soldotna office can be reached at 907-420-3999 during regular business hours.

Reach reporter Brian Mazurek at bmazurek@peninsulaclarion.com.