Adam Crum

Crum earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Northwestern University in 2007 and a master's in public health from Johns Hopkins University in 2015.[1] Crum's professional experience includes working as the executive vice president of Northern Industrial Training, as the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services commissioner from December 2018 to July 2022, and as the first commissioner of the newly-formed Alaska Department of Health from July 2022 to November 2022.[1][2][3]

As commissioner of the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services for four years, Crum oversaw the state’s response to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. In 2016 he ran for the Alaska State Senate and was defeated in the Republican Party primary by Alaska state Sen. Shelley Hughes (R). His brother is Joey Crum, who was appointed to the University of Alaska Board of Regents in January 2023.[4][5][6]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I was born in Homer and raised in Anchor Point, one of five kids. My dad helped build the pipeline. When he got hurt on the Slope, we moved to a two-bedroom dry cabin with seven of us inside. I learned what resilience costs early.

I walked on at Northwestern and earned a scholarship. Then I got a graduate degree from Johns Hopkins. When I came home, I went to work in the family business: Northern Industrial Training, Alaska's largest post-secondary vocational training provider, based right here in the Mat-Su. I have signed the front of a paycheck and taken a line of credit against my house to make payroll.

In 2018, Governor Dunleavy asked me to serve as Commissioner of Health and Social Services. I was 34. I led 3,500 employees and a $3.5 billion budget, guided Alaska through COVID, and executed the largest reorganization of state government since 1983. Then I served as Commissioner of Revenue, serving as fiduciary for $135 billion in Permanent Fund assets and vice chair of the Permanent Fund Corporation Board.

I am a husband, a father of two daughters, and a Christian. Lucy and Ellie are why I am running.

For 13 straight years, Alaska has lost more people than it has gained. I do not accept managed decline. We either build what is next, or we watch it happen. I am running to build.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

For 13 straight years, more Alaskans have left than have arrived. Nearly 57,000 neighbors gone. The wrong demographic is leaving: the young, the working, the family-forming. We are pricing out the people who built this state. I am a born and raised Alaskan with two daughters. I am not running because this is the next step in a political career. I am running because I refuse to hand Lucy and Ellie an Alaska that is smaller than the one I grew up in. We will grow the Permanent Fund through resource development, not taxes. We will build the economy families need to stay. We either accept managed decline, or we build what is next.Proven, not promised. I have done this work. At 34 I was appointed to lead Alaska's largest department: $3.5 billion, 3,500 employees, through COVID and the biggest reorganization of state government since 1983. As Commissioner of Revenue I was the fiduciary for $135 billion in Permanent Fund assets and earned three credit rating upgrades for Alaska with no new revenue. I have managed the budget that runs this state. I have sat across from Wall Street and fought for Alaska. I am not asking for a chance to learn the job.Proven, not promised. I have done this work. At 34 I was appointed to lead Alaska's largest department: $3.5 billion, 3,500 employees, through COVID and the biggest reorganization of state government since 1983. As Commissioner of Revenue I was the fiduciary for $135 billion in Permanent Fund assets and earned three credit rating upgrades for Alaska with no new revenue. I have managed the budget that runs this state. I have sat across from Wall Street and fought for Alaska. I am not asking for a chance to learn the job.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Energy and resource development. This is where Alaska's future is won or lost. Cook Inlet gas, Alaska LNG, a transmission line that ends energy poverty in the Interior. These are executable decisions waiting for a governor willing to make them.

Fiscal stewardship. I helped manage Alaska's savings. I will grow the Permanent Fund and oppose broad-based taxes without a vote of the people.

Vocational and career education. My family built Alaska's largest post-secondary training provider. Good-paying jobs require a pipeline of trained workers. That is not an abstraction to me.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Stewardship. An elected leader is a steward, not an owner. That means honesty about hard tradeoffs, even when an easier answer would poll better. It means the discipline to actually do the work and the humility to own a mistake. I have managed $135 billion in public savings, led 3,500 state employees, and guided Alaska through the worst public health crisis in a century. I know what governing costs. I know what failure costs. And I know that the people of Alaska are not served by politicians who campaign on promises they have never been tested to keep.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

The Governor sets Alaska's direction and is accountable for results. Balance the budget without gimmicks. Grow the economy so families can stay. Make Alaska affordable. Keep Alaskans safe. Manage thousands of state employees and billions in public dollars with the discipline of someone who has actually done it. And tell Alaskans the truth, in good times and in hard ones. This is a job of stewardship over resources and savings that belong to the people.

What legacy would you like to leave?

That we stopped managed decline and started building again. That a generation of Alaskans found a reason to stay. Cheaper energy from our own gas. Good jobs from our own resources. A Permanent Fund protected for the next generation. I want my daughters to inherit an Alaska that is growing, not shrinking. I want the families who are still here to look back and say: that was when it turned. Proven, not promised. Built by Alaskans. Built for Alaska.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Alaska Outdoor Council

Crum's campaign website highlighted the following issues:

Jobs and Economy:

We recognize that Alaska competes with other states and countries for investment capital. We need to create and maintain an attractive investment climate and then let our entrepreneurs create jobs and stimulate the economy. We have amazing opportunities here - I will work to make them happen.

Limited Government:

Government intervention frustrates free enterprise and stymies economic growth. Alaska's state government has grown too far, too fast. I will vote to reduce the size and increase the efficiency of our state government. I'm excited to see our private sector flourish once we right-size our government.

Alaska Outdoor Lifestyle:

I hunt and fish to fill my freezer and support the right of all Alaskans to do the same. I support science-based intensive management of predators in areas where moose or caribou stocks are weak. I will work to put more salmon in valley streams. The public should have access to public lands - on foot, bike, horseback or ATV. I will vote to support the 2nd Amendment and will work to protect your right to keep and bear arms. People the world over envy our outdoor opportunities here - I'll work to make them more accessible.

Education:

Parents should be able to make fundamental decisions about their child's education. I will vote to support home, charter and private options, along with our public schools. We need to listen to employers, then educate and train Alaskans to take advantage of opportunities in our economy.

Sanctity of Life:

I will vote to protect the sanctity of life.[11]

—Adam Crum, [12]