The former mayor of Hoonah is going to make another run at the Legislature, taking on Sitka Democrat Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins for House, for the third time.
Kenny Skaflestad, who is a Republican and Alaska Native, ran unsuccessfully in 2016 and 2020. He said today, “Every ounce of me wanted to run in the other direction, seeing the circus in Juneau. I just think I have something to offer to the district that we are not getting now. The pull to serve is on my heart and always I have always been a fool for punishment.”
Skaflestad finished his service as mayor of Hoonah in 2017. He said if the district doesn’t make a change, Kreiss-Tomkins will continue damaging the state.
The region is now known as District 2, per the new political boundary map from the Alaska Redistricting Board. Formerly known as District 35, it’s not drastically changed from the 2020 election. Major communities are Hydaburg, Kasaan and some of the East of Prince of Wales Island, Whale Pass, Coffman Cove, as well as Kake, Craig, Klawock, Petersburg, Pelican, Elfin Cove, Tenakee, Angoon, and the cities of Sitka and Hoonah. The district now stretches up to Yakutat.
Skaflestad said his website from his last campaign will get worked on over the weekend and be ready by Monday.
He is running on conservative values. He said elected officials should not keep governing contrary to statute, referring to the Permanent Fund dividend and the continuation of not paying a statutory amount to Alaska. If they don’t like the statute, legislators should change it, he said.
Kreiss-Tompkins is the hard Democrat from Sitka who is first took office in 2013. He has been reluctant to approve full dividends and opposes putting the Permanent Fund dividend calculation into the Alaska Constitution, so that it is no longer a political decision.
Love it! A REAL woodsman running for office. These sissyboy legislators don’t know what to say. T I M B E R!!!!
We really need too support! Our small Alaska communities! That need more of say! That really make a say for Alaska and Alaskans!
It’s not all about ! Anchorage, Fairbanks, JUNEAU
It would be great to have a viable candidate to replace Kreiss-Tomkins, Kenny might be a great guy but doesn’t fit the bill to replace Kreiss-Tomkins. He lost in the primary in 2018 then in the general in 2020. Hopefully third times a charm but the picture here does no favors, a brand new saw, brand new hard hat, and brand new hickory shirt? Come on Kenny, this isn’t photo shoot for GQ…show us who you are and that you’re a real Alaskan! Maybe pose with a bear your buddy shot, or a picture with you shooting a shotgun with a pistol on your hip, or a video with you in a skiff or catching fish! At the very least if you are going to use a picture of you in the woods, use one with you doing what you really do in the woods…don’t give us a political consultants idea of what Alaskans want to see.
He is from the Hoonah area – you honestly think he doesn’t how to run a saw , that he has never worked in the woods , etc ? A guy like him doesn’t have to explain his experiences in the SE to someone like you – you wouldn’t comprehend it anyway
SE Alaska needs different representatives asap – getting impossible to raise a family there in one of the most precious areas in the world- no thanks to the city democrats in juneau , Sitka etc
Jim,
Where did I say he doesn’t know how to run a saw or has never worked in the woods? You sure jump to a lot of conclusions. Which part do you think I wouldn’t comprehend, and what are you basing your absolutely incorrect opinion on? Have you ever been to SE, have you ever worn a hard hat, have you ever used a chain saw, have you ever fell a single tree? I didn’t ask him to explain himself, even though he did below…I simply pointed out that all of the tools in his picture were shiny and new. If you’ve ever been to SE, worn a hard hat, used a chain saw, or fell a tree you would know that keeping your hard hat and chain saw shiny and new doesn’t last long.
Hey hey Steve-O. I appreciate your observations and it seems you might appreciate freedom of the press and what photo they may choose. In this one, I happened to be in Juneau when a dear relative wished to eliminate danger trees. Him knowing I professionally cut timber in my younger days, sharpened his best little saw, loaned me his kid’s hardhat and showed me to the mess. Come visit me and it’s likely you’d be disgusted how soiled my regular-wear Hickory’s are. I don’t have lots of pictures from when I guided commercial bear hunts and it never donned on me to photograph my fairly regular harvest of a king, coho, halibut or shellfish. I am currently low on firewood and will have to go take a load or two soon. Offer to help and you’re invited. You can pack one of my saws, then I’ll shake your hand and you won’t look at press photos to know who I really am.
Kenny,
Thanks for explaining the photo and I appreciate that you can see the humor in my comment.
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As someone who was born and raised in the area you wish to serve, grew up in logging camps, as a former logger, and as a former commercial fisherman I very much doubt you would disgust me. I just couldn’t help but point out all the brand new shiny things in that picture…they stand out to those of us who know anything about how tools are used. The saw still has brand new stickers on it and the bar has never even been through a 2×4! It’s just a perfect made for Alaska candidate picture from the mind of someone who has never stepped foot outside the city, except it’s missing a long gun and a side arm like Nick Begich has in his ad. I find most of the ads from politicians to be more funny than anything, most of the political class thinks they are relating to the common man by pretending to be them…the bear doctor from the last Senate race comes to mind.
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I’ve been meaning to make it back down to SE for sometime, if I make it this year I will look you up and give you a hand with that firewood. In the meantime, I will be sending you some funds for your campaign. I really do appreciate that you would explain the shiny objects in the photo to those that don’t understand why I said what I did. Best of luck on the campaign!
MRAK could of used the photo of him sitting around the table with Lisa Murkowski. However that would not fit with the Tshibaka narrative that Murkowski visits rural Alaska only once every six years.
Hey Kenny, did you ever take Al Gross on a bear hunt? Would you ever?
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My advice is not to take him on a big tree cut, either.
Kenny, as someone who spent 4 decades in Southeast I wish you would go all the way with your Logging photo shoot. How about a shot of you cutting a standing 300 year old Hemlock with wood dust flying? You know the moment, just before the tree begins to fall? A snuff shot like that would surely serve to enrage those greenies who vote for the hyphenated punk from Sitka. Draw the distinction between yourself and this creepy kid. Real man vs ,whatever he is… BTW where do I send a donation for your race?
Oosik: you are not part of the solution.
So according to your woefully flawed “thinking”, Steve-O, if a candidate, any candidate, runs for office one time and does not win, then they are henceforth never to be a “viable” candidate? That is some crazy radical leftist thinking, right there.
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And I did not even need to read the article to know that “Kreiss-Thomkins” is the (hard left, radical) Democrat; the pretentious hyphenated name does it every time.
Jeff,
As usual you are out of your depth.
You are completely correct, Steve — I am not down in the squalid mud of lies and deceit, unlike some others here.
Jeff,
I’m glad we are in agreement that you are usually out of your depth.
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I didn’t know you were a comedian though, you not being down in the squalid mud of lies and deceit is one of the funniest things I’ve heard in a good while!
One might think, Steve, that after being shown up here with egg all over your face by Kenny, you would have the minimal amount of embarrassment, decency and shame to slink away and avoid embarrassing yourself further. But I guess not.
Jeff,
You are delusional.
Get rid of the Democrats and RINOs or we need a constitutional convention to save the PFD from current overdrawn POMV people steal billSB26..???
Blue Collar will be the ticket in 2022! The effeminate Harvard student look will be relegated to the dust bin of history. Good riddance!
I know both of these fellows. Skaflestad is a wise and thoughtful person, well spoken. He would be good for the district, for the region, and for the state. He would add greatly to the House leadership right from the first day. Also known as JKT, Kreiss-Tompkins is a strange and effeminate creature with a hyphenated name. He is smooth and quiet. His mother is an MD for the BIA health contractor but I don’t believe he has or claims any Native blood. He had all but graduated from Yale when he was convinced by someone close to Yale that he should run because of the 2010-12 redistricting in that it made re-election impossible for Bill Thomas. If Kreiss-Tompkins should be a legislator at all he should do so in another state, California or Connecticut maybe. Skaflestad can pull this off if (1) he can overcome the tendency of Natives to sometimes not want one of their own to get ahead of the rest of them, and (2) he puts together a good organization in Sitka starting today. Public Radio will pull out all the stops to defeat Skaflestad. Since Juneau Democrats don’t have competitive races to worry about they will help JKT substantially.
Well written, and accurate from my point of view! JKT is a must remove character, a Democrat thru and thru!
Good comment–I’m not exactly sure what it is about Kreiss-Tompkins. I really dislike making personal remarks about someone, but when I went to Juneau, I was definitely not impressed by his mannerisms. If he has some sort of physical problem, the Lord will have to forgive me for my bad judgment. I hope it was just his politics that bothered me, but he gave me a creepy feeling.
i would love to see this guy take office, as I’m sure most on this site do. However, Juneau has girded itself for such a display of patriotism. We have mail in only voting and a remote building where all votes are tabulated. Our last election had a write in candidate win, few had only heard of. Our previous elections had record turn out where this last one only 30% of the population voted (don’t quote me on that figure but it is low). Skaflestad will need to have a team to monitor ballots and the counting or he he’ll be wasting his time.
Seems like a decent guy and would be an improvement over the incumbent (not that this is a high bar to clear) but you have to ask is he really the guy to win, given that he lost in his previous two attempts? Best of luck of course, but I’m not holding my breath.
Do a forensic audit of 2020. Kenny already won.
He actually did well in the district last election, leading until the harvested ballots showed up and flipped the results.
As any elected Democrat about banning ballot harvesting and they will not even answer you. They know this is their ticket to winning in AK.
Maybe it is time for conservatives to start ballot harvesting, it might be the only way to get it outlawed.
We need oversight on Juneau’s election building. It was purchased with tax dollars and is being used against the taxpayer. I have not been by this building but plan to. Secret entrances? Maybe a tunnel? It was upgraded after purchase and one can only guess what “upgraded” truly means.
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