Jonathan S. Kreiss-Tomkins

Jonathan S. Kreiss-Tomkins was born and raised in Sitka and graduated from Sitka High School. He studied public policy at Yale College. In his career, he has worked as a substitute teacher, deckhander on a troller, and administrator with the Sitka Fine Arts Camp.[1]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I'm Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins — but most people call me JKT. I was born and raised in Sitka, where my dad kept the freezer full of venison and halibut, and my mom worked as a family doctor at the local hospital. I'm a proud Sitka High School graduate and a former Eagle Scout.

I was starting my final year of college on the East Coast when friends from home called. Southeast Alaska's longtime state representative — who'd voted to give oil companies a massive tax break — was running unopposed. So I left school without a degree, came home, and traveled by ferry and floatplane knocking on nearly every door in the district. I won by 32 votes.

That was 14 years ago. I went on to serve five terms in the State House, where I reached across the aisle to protect public education, reduce trawl bycatch, invest in roads and harbors, revitalize Alaska Native languages, and protect the $85 billion Permanent Fund from overspending.

Since I left the legislature three years ago, I've watched the same thing every Alaskan has: a governor whose administration has created a lot of hurt and harm for Alaskans. Prices keep rising. Schools keep closing. Roads and bridges are failing.

Alaskans deserve better. I'm running for governor to bring change to our state, work across party lines, and get Alaska back on track.

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?

First things first: fund our schools—and keep them open. I'll also pass a constitutional amendment to forward-fund education. Alaska schools shouldn't have to play the annual budget guessing game — wondering each spring which teachers will be laid off, which sports will be cut, and which programs will survive. Next, let’s pay teachers fairly so Alaska can attract and keep the best educators in the country. And I'll make sure every Alaska school can offer the sports, electives, and extracurriculars — shop, music, art — that make kids want to show up. (Also: Let’s get cell phones out of classrooms.)Alaska gets more expensive to live in every year — from energy to healthcare, from housing to groceries. I'll cut the red tape stifling housing development, unlock state land in and around Alaska cities for new homes, and stop leaving federal HUD and tribal housing dollars on the table. I’ll streamline the process for qualified people to open up childcare centers, so fewer Alaskans have to choose between raising their kids and keeping their job. And I'll lower healthcare costs by expanding telehealth, championing cooperation with tribal health centers, and letting qualified practitioners practice at the top of their license.Despite our state’s wealth of energy resources, Alaskans pay some of the highest electricity bills in the country. Railbelt utilities each build their own redundant infrastructure, and every Alaskan is effectively taxed for it on their power bill. As governor, I'll make the utilities cooperate to lower costs. I'll also back an all-of-the-above strategy — natural gas, hydro, wind, solar, and energy storage — to stabilize rates and keep our energy dollars in Alaska. I'll open the grid so independent power producers can compete and drive prices down. And I'll demand real transparency and accountability on rates, outages, and administrative overhead, so Alaskans can see exactly where their money is going.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Three things: public education, fisheries, and good government.

I grew up in a state where the public schools worked, and I want that for Alaskan kids today. That means we treat teaching like the honorable profession it is.

I represented fishing communities in Southeast Alaska for a decade. My dad commercial fished. I grew up subsistence dipnetting for sockeye. But we have big problems today: bottom trawl bycatch, crashed Chinook runs, and commercial permits leaving Alaska for the Lower 48. Alaskans depend on us solving these problems.

And I want our state government to work for regular Alaskans — not political allies getting cushy appointments. That’s why I co-sponsored the law that banned lobbyists from buying lawmakers fancy dinners.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Jennie Armstrong — fmr. state rep

Erin Baldwin Day — assembly

Anna Brawley — assembly

Chris Constant — assembly

Forrest Dunbar — state senator

Zack Fields — state rep

Zac Johnson — assembly

Kelly Lessens — school board

Calvin Schrage — state rep

Sydney Scout — assembly-elect

Yarrow Silvers — assembly

Ivy Spohnholz — fmr. state rep

Daniel Volland — assembly

Saima Chase — mayor

Hugh Dyment — fmr. mayor

Terry Haines — mayor

Joe Klejka — fmr. mayor

Austin Love — council

Reid Magdanz — assembly

Robyn Frier — state rep

Wendy Ranney — council

Sandra West — council

Scott Crass — assembly

Savannah Fletcher — fmr. assembly

Luke Hopkins — fmr. mayor

Liz Reeves — assembly

Patrick Roach — assembly

Campaign websiteKreiss-Tomkins' campaign website stated the following:What Does JKT Stand For?Alaska needs change. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins (also known as JKT), born and raised in Sitka, represented Southeast Alaska for a decade in the legislature, bringing new energy to Juneau and working across the aisle to protect public schools and lower the cost of energy and housing.JKT is running for governor to bring a new generation of leadership to the governor’s office. Let’s support our schools, lower the cost of energy, build new homes, and balance the budget — so that the next generation will also call Alaska home.Support Our SchoolsFully fund our schools and reverse the decline of public education in Alaska.Pass a constitutional amendment to “forward fund” education and put an end to the awful annual budget guessing game. School districts and families shouldn’t have to wonder how many teachers are going to be laid off (only to be rehired a month later) on an annual basis.Ensure enough funding for Alaska schools to offer sports, electives (shop, music, art, etc.), and extracurriculars that enrich students’ lives.Get cell phones out of classrooms.Pay teachers fairly. Alaska should attract and retain the best educators in the country. Create a defined benefit retirement system that ensures we don’t lose our best teachers to the Lower 48.Support Our SchoolsSupport development of all energy sources — renewables, hydro, and natural gas — to lower utility bills for Alaskans.Require the four Railbelt utilities to cooperate with each other in order to provide cheaper electricity for Alaskans.Protect ratepayers from paying for a second unnecessary and costly LNG import terminal in Cook Inlet.Partner with industry and support the development of an economically-viable Alaskan natural gas pipeline.Lower Energy CostsBring down the cost of housing by cutting red tape so we can build affordable homes where Alaskans need them most.Unlock state land parcels within and adjacent to Alaska cities and towns for housing development to create more housing supply.Eliminate regulatory barriers to low-cost manufactured and modular housing (trailers, tiny homes, etc.) to provide safe and affordable homes across the state.Deploy state corporations (AHFC and also AIDEA) as financing partners for new housing development.Stop leaving federal housing dollars on the table. Funding from HUD, USDA Rural Development, and tribal housing programs can supercharge homebuilding.Create mechanisms to tax “dark homes” — second homes and vacation homes owned by nonresidents — as a means to create a housing market more friendly for Alaskans who live here.Build More HomesBring down the cost of housing by cutting red tape so we can build affordable homes where Alaskans need them most.Unlock state land parcels within and adjacent to Alaska cities and towns for housing development to create more housing supply.Eliminate regulatory barriers to low-cost manufactured and modular housing (trailers, tiny homes, etc.) to provide safe and affordable homes across the state.Deploy state corporations (AHFC and also AIDEA) as financing partners for new housing development.Stop leaving federal housing dollars on the table. Funding from HUD, USDA Rural Development, and tribal housing programs can supercharge homebuilding.Create mechanisms to tax “dark homes” — second homes and vacation homes owned by nonresidents — as a means to create a housing market more friendly for Alaskans who live here.Support Healthcare AccessSupport Medicaid expansion.Partner with tribal health organizations to secure maximum federal funding for Alaskans’ healthcare.Reduce healthcare costs by promoting telehealth.Support appropriate scopes of practice for healthcare practitioners such as nurse practitioners, physician assistants, optometrists, and dental health aides.Make the Permanent Fund permanent: ensure that the entirety of the Permanent Fund is constitutionally protected from overspending so that the fund will grow and benefit future generations of Alaskans.Ensure that Alaskans get a fair share from our state’s oil wealth. All Alaska oil and gas producers should contribute to the Alaska budget by paying corporate income tax. Hilcorp should pay its fair share just the way ConocoPhillips does.Balance The BudgetGet corporate money out of politics: remove political spending power from the list of powers the State of Alaska grants its corporations.Appoint only qualified Alaskans to state boards and commissions — not political allies with no qualifications for the positions.No foreign junkets. Building on laws I helped pass as a legislator, state officials should not accept lavish vacations from foreign governments or deep-pocketed individuals when there is little to no benefit to the State of Alaska.Better Government; Less CorruptionRein in bottom trawl bycatch and conserve Alaska’s fisheries resources.Prevent permits from leaving Alaska for the Lower 48. Alaska’s commercial fishing permits should be fished by Alaskans.Fully empower the Division of Investments (Commercial Fishing Revolving Loan Fund) and CFAB to finance the entry of new and young fishermen into the fleet.Fully fund ADF&G.Prioritize restoring the crashed Chinook runs in the Yukon, Kuskokwim, and Southcentral Alaska rivers.Support balance on the Board of Fish. The BOF should not be dominated by any one user group. Support the independence of CFEC.Nominate Alaskans to the North Pacific Council who support the interests of Alaska-based fishermen and Alaska coastal communities.Prioritize capital investment in port and harbor infrastructure.Protect Our FisheriesDefend Alaska women’s right to choose.Ensure access to contraception.Protect Alaskans’ — including Alaska Natives and LGBTQ Alaskans — right to live their lives free from discrimination and prejudice.Protect Alaskan voters’ personal information from federal intrusion.Protect Alaskans’ Personal FreedomsProtect the rural preference and put an end to litigation that undermines Title VIII of ANILCA.Adequately fund the Division of Subsistence at ADF&G.Defend SubsistencePrevent tax dollars from going to glitzy megaprojects that don’t serve our critical needs and rarely materialize.Build and maintain roads, airports and airstrips, bridges, power plants, and ports. Infrastructure supports small businesses and lowers costs.Rebuild the ferry system. Support adequate funding. Build a new generation of mainline vessels, financed by GO bonds. Get politics out of the Alaska Marine Highway System by creating an independent, non-political governing board, similar to the Alaska Railroad and the University of Alaska.Fix Our InfrastructurePrevent tax dollars from going to glitzy megaprojects that don’t serve our critical needs and rarely materialize.Build and maintain roads, airports and airstrips, bridges, power plants, and ports. Infrastructure supports small businesses and lowers costs.Rebuild the ferry system. Support adequate funding. Build a new generation of mainline vessels, financed by GO bonds. Get politics out of the Alaska Marine Highway System by creating an independent, non-political governing board, similar to the Alaska Railroad and the University of Alaska.Keep Alaskans SafeSupport our first responders by funding and equipping our police, fire, and emergency medical personnel. Adequately fund the Village Public Safety Officer program to provide law enforcement in rural Alaska.— Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins' campaign website (July 7, 2026)Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.

Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins did not complete [the profile publisher]'s 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

Kreiss-Tomkins' website highlighted the following campaign themes:[13]

Jobs

Excerpt: "Private enterprise creates jobs, and government helps provide the foundation on which those jobs are created. Harbors, roads, ferries, electricity, water and sewer, education — all are foundational to the economy. If government can create and maintain infrastructure, business will create jobs."

Fishing

Excerpt: "I support good fishing policy in the legislature, and I will hoof it to Seattle, Portland, or Nome to lobby for Southeast Alaska fishing fleet at the North Pacific Fishery Management Council or the IPHC."

Education

Excerpt: "I support (and have voted for) adequate funding of public education. It’s not happening right now. It should."

Energy

Excerpt: "Expensive energy suffocates economies. Southeast needs to develop new energy resources, improve energy efficiency, and encourage electrical interdependence. Investing in energy infrastructure is an investment in the Southeast Alaska economy."

Native and Rural

Excerpt: "I believe in providing full and equal access to government, no matter how small or isolated the community."