Former Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly President Brent Johnson is throwing his hat in the ring for the House District 6 seat in the Alaska Legislature, currently held by Homer Republican Sarah Vance. Vance has not yet declared if she’s seeking another term.
Johnson, of Clam Gulch, unsuccessfully challenged Vance in the 2024 election for District 6, which covers Kasilof south on the Kenai Peninsula. He says he’s optimistic for a different outcome this campaign. He got a late start last time, deciding to run in April after Vance voted not to overturn Gov. Mike Dunleavey’s veto of an increase to education funding.
“I want to win. I want to have a good representation for House District 6,” Johnson said. “… I was, like, 5 percentage points behind her or so. And I think that with the new flavor of politics in the United States and in District 6 that I can overcome that.”
Johnson was born in Seldovia and has spent most of his life in Clam Gulch. He’s been a commercial set-net fisherman in Cook Inlet since the 1960s, and has been involved in the Kenai Peninsula Fishermen's Association and Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association. He served four terms on the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly, has been on the borough’s planning commission and the Kenai/Soldotna Advisory Committee for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. He was nominated to the Alaska Board of Fisheries in 2009 but wasn’t confirmed by the Legislature.
If elected, he says he’ll focus on three statewide priorities.
“I'm going to stress education funding. I'm going to stress growth of the permanent fund body. I'm going to work with other legislators and try to grow the economy,” Johnson said.
The oil and gas industry is another interest, especially with the possibility of a natural gasline being built with a terminus in Nikiski.
“One concern I have is Gov. Dunleavy has proposed capping the mill rate for oil properties at like two mills, or something like that. That's ridiculous. It's 20 mills now, and the borough benefits,” Johnson said. “… The pipeline is going to cost billions of dollars, and we're going to try to starve the local municipalities, being the borough and cities, from sharing those oil property revenues? I think that’s a bad idea.”
Johnson says commercial fishing and education are other issues with particular impact to the Kenai Peninsula.
“Fisheries across the state are being hammered,” he said. “We certainly need to rebuild king salmon runs. Education, of course, is a big issue on the Kenan Peninsula. We're thinking of closing four schools this year — are on the chopping block, anyway, and so that's an important issue.”
Johnson is running as a nonpartisan, while Vance has been on the Republican ticket. Johnson says the two differ in many ways, but highlighted education funding and social issues.
“I understand the reality that parents have chosen to put kids in homeschool, so I want to make homeschool as good as possible,” Johnson said. “But a primary focus of mine is on brick-and-mortar schools. Representative Vance has introduced a heartbeat abortion bill, and I'm opposed to that. I think Roe vs. Wade got it right. I'm a Roe vs. Wade rights, women's right to privacy person.”
The Alaska Primary Election will be Aug. 18.
