By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Assembly member Rebecca Himschoot has filed a letter of intent to run for the seat in the state House of Representatives that’s being vacated by Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins.
Kreiss-Tomkins, a Democrat, announced last month that he will not run for a sixth term in the House, where he represents Sitka, Petersburg and a number of smaller Southeast communities.
Himschoot, a school teacher in Sitka, filed her letter of intent with the State Public Offices Commission last Tuesday, saying she will seek the House District 2 nomination in the August primary, with her party affiliation listed as undeclared.
She was elected to a three-year term on the Assembly in 2020.
Rebecca Himschoot. (Sentinel Photo)
“We have seen how decisions made in Juneau have significant consequences for coastal communities,” Himschoot said in a written statement. “We rely on representatives that are willing to put our community above politics, and work across the aisle, and go to bat for our schools, ferries, and small boat fisheries. As part of the Bipartisan Coalition, Jonathan has done that work admirably. We need our next representative to do the same.”
Filing a letter of intent allows a candidate to begin taking campaign donations. She told the Sentinel that she plans to have a formal campaign launch on Wednesday, when she will start raising campaign funds.
Kenny Skaflestad, a Republican from Hoonah, has already filed to run for the District 2 seat. The deadline for filing is June 1.
Himschoot cited her experience on the Assembly in her qualifications for the Legislature.
“Serving as a member of the Sitka Assembly has strengthened my capacity for pragmatic problem solving,” she said. “Over the past few weeks I have had many conversations about what it would mean for my family and me should I step up and serve our community in this way.”
She said filing the letter of intent will allow her to take “concrete steps in that direction.” That includes putting together her campaign team and making expenditures.
Himschoot, 54, has lived in Sitka off and on since 1988, first as a student but mostly as a grade school teacher. Her career in education has included schools in Hawaii and Kuwait but mostly in the Sitka School District. She was a science teacher at Keet Gooshi Heen Elementary for six years, and since 2017 has been an English as a second language teacher for grades 2 through 8.
Himschoot is the 2016-17 recipient of the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship from the U.S. Department of Energy, and in 2016 was named to the Alaska Board of Education. In 2012 she received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching from the National Science Foundation.
Himschoot has one more year in her current term on the Assembly.
