Preceded by Bill Thomas Education Yale University Name Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins | Alma mater Yale University Residence Sitka, Alaska Political party Democratic Party | |
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Born February 7, 1989 (age 35)
Sitka, Alaska ( 1989-02-07 ) | ||
Akrn ep3 interview w jonathan kreiss tomkins
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.
Contents
- Akrn ep3 interview w jonathan kreiss tomkins
- Rep jonathan kreiss tomkins d addresses native issues forum
- Committees
- Legislation
- 2012 election
- 2014 election
- Media coverage
- Personal life
- References
Rep jonathan kreiss tomkins d addresses native issues forum
Committees
For the 28th Legislature, Representative Kreiss-Tomkins is a member of the following committees:
Legislation
House Bill 216, sponsored by Kreiss-Tomkins, was signed into law on October 23, 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.
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.
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.
2014 election
In the 2014 mid-term elections, Kreiss-Tomkins was re-elected with 60 percent of the vote (3393 votes to 2288). 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.
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. Kreiss-Tomkins is a long distance runner; he won the Alpine Adventure Race in 2009, and placed second in the Coyote Two Moon ultramarathon in 2010. He's a cellist; he toured Southeast Alaska with the Indigo Piano Trio. 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.