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Gubernatorial candidates make their pitch at the Alaska Federation of Natives convention
Three of the four candidates vying to become the next governor emphasized bipartisan agreements during a forum at the Anchorage convention
By Yereth Rosen
Alaska Beacon
The three gubernatorial candidates who spoke Friday at the Alaska Federation of Natives convention found plenty of common ground on education, fisheries, public safety and other subjects.
But some divides emerged in what was, for the most part, a friendly and collegial panel discussion between Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, Republicans Dave Bronson and Treg Taylor and journalist Antonia Gonzalez, the moderator.
Bernadette Wilson, the Republican endorsed by President Donald Trump and the fourth candidate on the general election ballot, did not participate in the forum, though she visited the convention earlier in the day.
The Alaska Federation of Natives conference is the largest statewide Native organization representing more than 140,000 people, or nearly one in five Alaskans. This year marks the organization’s 60th annual convention.
For the Alaska Native audience, the most consequential disagreement that emerged between the candidates on stage concerned rights to subsistence, the traditional harvests of food and natural materials for personal and family use.
Kreiss-Tomkins, a former state lawmaker from Sitka, drew repeated applause, especially for his commitment to respect the rural preference for subsistence food-gathering rights that are enshrined in federal law. That rural preference was affirmed in 1990s-era litigation named for an Ahtna elder who was the lead plaintiff, Katie John.
“It should be the policy of the state of Alaska, in the Department of Law, with the attorney general and the governor, to support subsistence and not undermine the Katie John decision,” Kreiss-Tomkins said.
Left unspoken, but implied, was current Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s unsuccessful legal campaign to overturn the rural subsistence priority and grant all Alaskans subsistence rights.
Taylor, as Dunleavy’s attorney general, spearheaded that campaign, which centered on federal management of salmon fishing on the Kuskokwim River, a flashpoint for AFN and other Native organizations. He appealed the decision up to the U.S. Supreme Court in 2025.
Another difference emerged among the two Republicans on the stage.
Taylor praised the Community Development Quota system, under which quota shares for federally managed groundfish harvests are allotted to coastal Alaska community cooperatives. The program enables residents of rural coastal villages to conduct trawl harvests of groundfish or contract with trawl companies to do that.
“I love the CDQ program,” Taylor said. Rural communities’ control of the fisheries continues to grow through the program, he noted. “I can’t wait for the day when those communities own the vast majority of the commercial fleet,” he said.
But Bronson, the former Anchorage mayor who has staked out a position opposing large-scale commercial trawling, said CDQ-affiliated trawling is part of the problem affecting Alaska fish.
“If the CDQ program is just going to what the large commercial trawlers are doing . . .I can’t support that program,” he said. “When we don’t have enough fish, we’re not just destroying industry, we’re destroying cultures both coastal and upriver. And we’ve got to have more fish.”
Common themes on salmon, education and more
However, there were broad levels of agreement on other subjects.
All spoke about the importance of salmon and the various factors contributing to run declines in key parts of the state.
Bronson cited a particular area of agreement with Kreiss-Tomkins: a desire to expand the state boards of fisheries and game to ensure that there is a greater diversity of members, including those dependent on subsistence harvests. The boards, which currently have seven members each, should be expanded to 11 each, he said.
In the case of fisheries, there is too much emphasis on large commercial operators, both at the state board and at the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, Bronson said. “They drive the agenda,” he said. That is a large part of the reason why there are too few fish in the rivers, he continued, “because large corporate interests who do not represent Alaska, who are not from Alaska, are catching too many fish in the open seas.”
Kreiss-Tomkins is advocating more diverse representation on the fishery and game boards, including a stronger subsistence emphasis, but he is not advocating specific numbers.
The issue of climate change, which is cited by scientists as a major reason for salmon run problems, got scant mention in the forum.
All three candidates committed to elevating tribal issues in their administrations, whether through special advisors, panels or cabinet appointees.
Bronson, a self-described conservative, gave credit to former Gov. Tony Knowles, the last Democrat to occupy the office. Knowles set a good foundation with an administrative order that established “a framework for tribal governance and communication with tribal governance with the state government,” Bronson said.
All three candidates said they favored forward funding of education to ensure that school districts’ budgets are not left unresolved until the end of each legislative session.
All said they favored some initiatives to improve the availability and affordability of housing, which is in short supply and, in many cases, poor quality in rural Alaska.
All pledged to rebuild the Alaska Marine Highway System, which has atrophied in recent years after budget cuts that reduced ferry service.
Kreiss-Tomkins, whose hometown is on an island and is one of those dependent on ferries, criticized Dunleavy for contributing to the condition of the Alaska Marine Highway fleet, which he called “an embarrassment.”
“The ferry system is a shadow of what it used to be in Alaska,” he said. And that is not a coincidence, he said.
“The lack of investment from this governor and the lack of coordination between this administration and the incredible resources that Senator Murkowski brought to Alaska for the ferry system, it’s been a huge missed opportunity,” Kreiss-Tomkins said. “And I think it’s frustrating to anyone from coastal Alaska who cares about the future of the ferry system.”
Kreiss-Tomkins was referring to federal funds secured by U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, to shore up gaps in state operations and maintenance.
Dunleavy is finishing his second term and is not eligible to run for reelection this year.
All three candidates also spoke about public safety, particularly the crisis of domestic violence and crimes against Indigenous women.
Taylor said that during his tenure as attorney general, crime in Alaska was brought to a 40-year low, with violent crime reduced by 5% and sexual assaults reduced by 26%. “Now we’re still the worst in the nation, even with that reduction,” meaning there is a lot more work to do, Taylor said.
Kreiss-Tomkins said he has “a lot of appreciation for the work that Treg did as attorney general on the subject. And I mean, if this isn’t a bipartisan issue, I don’t know what is.”
Election Day is Nov. 3 and early voting in Alaska began on Oct. 19. Voters in Alaska use a ranked-choice system to select candidates.
• Yereth Rosen came to Alaska in 1987 to work for the Anchorage Times. She has been reporting on Alaska news ever since, covering stories ranging from oil spills to sled-dog races. She has reported for Reuters, for the Alaska Dispatch News, for Arctic Today and for other organizations. Alaska Beacon is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
