Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins

Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins

Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins on Lincoln Street in downtown Sitka in October 2014, campaigning for reelection during the Alaska Day parade. Kreiss-Tomkins stopped to greet a spectator along the parade route. Sitka's iconic St. Michael's Cathedral is in the background.
Member of the Alaska House of Representatives
from the 35th district
Assumed office
January 15, 2013
Preceded by Bill Thomas
Personal details
Born (1989-02-07) February 7, 1989
Sitka, Alaska
Political party Democratic
Residence Sitka, Alaska
Alma mater Yale University

Jonathan S. Kreiss-Tomkins (born February 7, 1989) is a member of the Alaska House of Representatives. A Democrat, he represents the state's thirty-fifth district, which encompasses many Southeast island communities including Hoonah, Sitka, Haines, Kake, Klawock, Craig, and Metlakatla.

Alaska House of Representatives

Committees

For the 28th Legislature, Representative Kreiss-Tomkins is a member of the following committees:[1]

Legislation

House Bill 216, sponsored by Kreiss-Tomkins, was signed into law on October 23rd, 2014, making each of the twenty Native languages in Alaska an official language of the state. The act, which was passed by large bipartisan majorities in both chambers, adds Inupiaq, Siberian Yupik, Central Alaskan Yup'ik, Alutiiq, Unangax, Dena'ina, Deg Xinag, Holikachuk, Koyukon, Upper Kuskokwim, Gwich'in, Tanana, Upper Tanana, Tanacross, Hän, Ahtna, Eyak, Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian languages as official languages of the state.[2]

Political campaigns

2012 election

Due to the 2010 Census redistricting, Bill Thomas, a state representative since 2004, was no longer an incumbent in some of the towns of the modified district. Kreiss-Tomkins' hometown of Sitka fell into the 34th district and no other candidates from the Democratic party filed to run in the primary, so he decided to run for the seat.[3]

The race was very close, as Kreiss-Tomkins only won 4130 to 4098 with 50.12% of the vote, a margin of only 32 votes. After a recount that decreased Kreiss-Tomkins' margin of victory from 34 to 32, the vote was finalized on December 3, 2012, almost a month after election day.[4][5]

2014 election

In the 2014 mid-term elections, Kreiss-Tomkins was re-elected with 60 percent of the vote (3393 votes to 2288).[6] Kreiss-Tomkins faced Petersburg Republican Steven Samuelson, who lost twice before to Peggy Wilson of Wrangell in primaries. Kreiss-Tomkins was elected in a slightly altered district (renumbered as House District 35) that now included Petersburg and the northern end of Prince of Wales Island, but no longer covered Haines and Metlakatla.[7]

Media coverage

After Kreiss-Tomkins' victory in 2012, The Nation wrote an article about him titled ″Alaska's Lesson for the Left.″ Following the 2014 legislative session, during which Kreiss-Tomkins sponsored a successful bill that made Alaska's Native languages official, the Washington Post named him one its ″40 Under 40,″ a list of people younger than 40 making a name for themselves in politics outside the Beltway.

Personal life

As a freshman at Sitka High School in 2003, Kreiss-Tomkins was a major online organizer for the Howard Dean presidential campaign.[8] Kreiss-Tomkins is a long distance runner; he won the Alpine Adventure Race in 2009,[9] and placed second in the Coyote Two Moon ultramarathon in 2010.[10] He's a cellist; he toured Southeast Alaska with the Indigo Piano Trio.[11][12] He is also a mountaineer; in 2009 he climbed the highest volcano in the world, Argentina’s Ojos del Salado, to conclusively measure its height against a neighboring peak in Chile.[13][14]

References

  1. ↑ "House Democrats Announce New Committee Assignments". Alaska Democrats. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  2. ↑ "NEWS: House Minority Praises the Signing of a Bill Designating 20 Alaska Native Languages as Official State Languages". Alaska Democrats. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  3. ↑ "Sitkan Enters House Race in New District". Sitka Sentinel. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  4. ↑ "House District 34 Recount - December 3, 2012" (PDF). Alaska Division of Elections. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  5. ↑ Miller, Mark (December 4, 2012). "Kreiss-Tomkins wins seat by 32 votes". Juneau Empire. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  6. ↑ "Kreiss-Tomkins reelected by wide margin". KCAW. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  7. ↑ "No primary challengers for Sitka house seat". KCAW. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  8. ↑ Miller, Andrew (17 November 2003). "Teen is top cyber fan of presidential candidate". Sitka Sentinel. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  9. ↑ "Alpine Adventure Run Preview". Sitka Sentinel. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
  10. ↑ Beckett, Sean (3 April 2010). "The ultramarathon: if a marathon just isn't enough". Yale Herald. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
  11. ↑ "Trio Swings Tunes from Bach to Lady Gaga". Sitka Sentinel. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
  12. ↑ Sterling, Libby (30 December 2009). "Trio of young virtuosos embarks on Southeast tour". Capital City Weekly. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  13. ↑ "The Year in Sitka Sports". Sitka Sentinel. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  14. ↑ Gonzalez, Susan. "Yale Student Makes Mission Measuring Mountains". Yale News. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
Honorary titles
Preceded by
Lance Pruitt		 Youngest member of the Alaska House of Representatives
2013- 		Succeeded by
Current


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/9/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.