House Majority Leader Dan Saddler, R-Eagle River, leans over to examine a proposed budget amendment with House Rules Chair Craig Johnson, R-Anchorage, on Tuesday, April 4, 2023, in the Alaska House of Representatives at Juneau. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
Alaska lawmakers eulogized their former colleague, Craig Johnson, a longtime Republican Representative for Anchorage, who died Friday at the age of 72.
Alaska’s House of Representatives took a moment of silence in his honor during their Friday floor session, at the request of majority caucus leader Rep. Chuck Kopp, R-Anchorage, who succeeded Johnson in his seat.
“Today we lost one of our own,” Kopp said. “Craig Johnson served with great honor in this body from 2007 to 2016. In fact, he was the one that encouraged me to run for his seat when he ran for Senate.”
Johnson returned to the House again from 2023 to 2024 and chaired the House Rules Committee, a position he also held from 2011 to 2015.
Kopp credited Johnson with work on the state’s legacy oil tax system and gas line policy, as well as with school and road improvements in South Anchorage.
“Craig was very proud of his time in the Legislature, but no one that knew him ever doubted that his greatest joys were his family. Nancy, Erin and Jenifer guided every decision that he made every step of his life. They inspired him and loved him fiercely,” Kopp said.
House Speaker Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham, who served with Johnson, remembered him also as an athlete: “Little-known fact, maybe a few of you know it, but he was at one point a collegiate football player. He was a starting field goal kicker for the Oklahoma State Cowboys and played with some pretty famous NFL players.”
Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s office said in a Friday news release that the governor and first lady mourned Johnson’s death and planned to fly the state’s flags at half-staff at a date of the Johnson family’s choosing.
“Craig Johnson always stood for what was right and fought for sensible solutions in response to Alaska’s challenges. I’m grateful to have called him a friend. Rose and I will be praying for comfort for Nancy and their family during this difficult time,” Dunleavy said in the release.
Rep. Dan Saddler, R-Anchorage, prompted hearty desk-thumping — a form of legislative applause — with a heartfelt tribute speech to his longtime friend.
“He is a team player, he was not looking to get credit for himself. He wanted to make sure the team functioned well. He took a back seat so that the institution itself could prosper and followed the rules and followed traditions and functioned well for the people,” he said.
Saddler remembered his earliest impressions of Johnson as a “competent, but funny guy” in their early careers before politics, and later, as young staffers who transitioned to elected roles as lawmakers.
He looked over his shoulder to the seat where Johnson sat in his last legislative session when he described how Johnson would make sure to note his family accomplishments and anniversaries.
“He was a very genuine, very funny, very — someone irreverent, but a very thoughtful and considerate person…” he said. “I will miss him.”
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Courtesy of Alaska Beacon
