What happens when leaders put problem-solving ahead of partisanship?
Join BigTentUSA on Thursday, June 25 at 7 PM ET / 3 PM AKST for a timely conversation with Alaska congressional candidate Bill Hill, an independent, and Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, a Democratic candidate for governor.
In a political era defined by division, Alaska has often charted its own course. Hill and Kreiss-Tomkins will discuss the importance of bipartisan coalition-building, the unique political culture that makes cooperation possible, and what it takes to govern across ideological lines.
The conversation will also explore the challenges and opportunities facing Alaska’s fishing industry and coastal communities—issues that are critical to the state’s economy, environment, and way of life. From strengthening local economies to navigating rapid change, we’ll examine how leaders can build durable solutions that bring people together.
Don’t miss this opportunity to hear how Alaska’s independent spirit may offer lessons for the rest of the country.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:
Bill Hill is running for Alaska’s Congressional At-Large seat, and grew up in a small village in Bristol Bay, Alaska – the home of the largest salmon run in the world. He grew up subsistence fishing and hunting, trapping, and raising and racing sled dog teams with his family. Bill is first and foremost a commercial fisherman, joining his dad on the family fishing boat when he was 12 and fishing every fishing season in Bristol Bay since. Bill also worked in rural construction, from building houses, working on remote health clinics and canneries, environmental remediation, and on a crew that installed the sewer system in the Bristol Bay Borough. A son of two teachers, Bill spent nearly 25 years working as a teacher, a principal, and a superintendent, and was named Alaska Superintendent of the Year in 2023. He’s a proud union guy, having been part of both the Laborers union and the NEA. Bill is a husband, dad of four, and Chada (grandpa) to 7. Bill and his family have lived in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau. Now he and his wife Diane are back in Naknek, population 470.
Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins — known as JKT — is running for governor of Alaska in an open-seat election. Born and raised in the island community of Sitka in Southeast Alaska, JKT became interested in politics at a young age. At 13, he attracted national attention, leading Howard Dean’s presidential campaign’s Alaska efforts. During his senior year of college, he received recruitment calls to run against the powerful eight-year Republican incumbent for his home district. He mounted a scrappy underdog campaign in 2012, defeating him by 32 votes. At 23 years old, JKT was the third-youngest legislator elected in Alaska history, and served in the Alaska House of Representatives for 10 years. Four years in, in 2016, he worked across the aisle to help sweep into power a “bipartisan coalition” majority caucus of all House Democrats, as well as independents and moderate Republicans. That bipartisan coalition remains in power today. JKT is running for governor to bring a new generation of leadership to the governor’s office — supporting schools, lowering the cost of energy, building new homes, and balancing the budget — so that the next generation will also call Alaska home.
