Dear Editor: I entered the governor’s race in February of this year, with a launch event at the Sheet’ka Kwaan Naa Kahidi Community House with 75 friends, family, and Sitkans I’ve known for much of my life. I am very proud of the campaign we have built in the six months since. By most every measure, we are one of the top campaigns in a rowdy field of 17.
As you might imagine, I read Krisanne Rice’s letter to the editor (August 11) with interest. Ms. Rice ponders the questions of “transparency, independence, judgment and accountability” in the context of the governor’s race, and raises moral questions, ultimately unspecified, about the campaign.
Our campaign for governor has raised $2.17 million, every dime of which has been publicly reported (just as with every other candidate). A large percentage of our fundraising haul has been from national political donors. Many of these donors are the same national donors who are donating to Mary Peltola.
They are investing in our campaign because they share my belief that our campaign is best situated to win this November against whatever MAGA-esque candidate — Bernadette Wilson? Dave Bronson? — emerges from the Republican field.
The reason our national donors are supporting our campaign is the same reason why these national donors are supporting Mary Peltola: because she is a formidable candidate with a very good chance of defeating Dan Sullivan. I, for one, am thrilled that Mary Peltola has been such a formidable fundraiser, and that this helps give her the best chance of winning in November.
In addition to our national support, our campaign has 1,775 donors from across Alaska. Those 1,775 donors are significantly more than any of the other 16 campaigns for governor, Democrat, independent, or Republican.
If you account for the fact that our campaign has been in the race for only six months (most others have been running for about a year), our rate of Alaskan grassroot support nearly doubles that of the runner-up campaign in the field of 17.
Our campaign also boasts endorsements from more current and former Alaska elected officials than any other campaign, and more endorsements from Alaska commercial fishing organizations than any other campaign.
As you might imagine, our campaign is quite proud of these facts.
Both can be true at the same time: robust support from national donors and best-in-the-field grassroots support from Alaskans, both in terms of contributions and endorsements. And/both. We’re proud of it.
Sitka being Sitka, I’ve known Krisanne Rice and her husband Jim Clare socially much of my life. I don’t begrudge their support for Tom Begich one bit. That is the beauty of our democratic system.
I’ve run a campaign that is positive and respectful towards all of my opponents, and encouraged our supporters to do the same. I was sorry to read Ms. Rice’s letter, and I hope this additional context might provide some resolution to her concerns.
Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins
