Gregg Brelsford
for Governor
Alaska's
Education Governor
Education Governor
We’re well into the 21st Century. We should be thriving. We’re not. We’ve suffered eight long years of Republican leaders’ failure of imagination and performance and cruelty (with many courageous individual Republican exceptions). They’ve turned us upside down. We’re way behind. We’ve lost our way.
We can do better. I’m passionately running as an Independent for Governor to get us back on track and to TRANSFORM Alaska for growth and success in the 21st century.
Who I am
I am a former Alaskan prosecutor, manager of the two largest municipalities in Bristol Bay (during COVID), CEO of one of Alaska’s twelve Alaska Native regional tribal governing bodies, 5-year board member of the Alaska Federation of Natives, 37-year member of the Alaska Bar Association and former state supreme court law clerk, proud UAA and Havard Law School graduate and a candidate in past state and federal elections.
Upon arriving in 1972, I have lived, worked and talked extensively with Alaskans on-the-ground throughout our great state. I’ve heard what concerns us and how our current Republican leaders are failing us. I’m vigorously running for Governor to turn things around.
Transform Alaska
Upon taking office, I will immediately set agency budgets to zero and rebuild them from the ground up. I will target misguided and wasteful spending, reallocate budgets and create priorities fit for the increasing demands of the 21st century: building bridges among all political views, vigorously educating our schoolchildren and developing natural resources and jobs, growing revenues and a long-term fiscal plan, maximizing legal voting by Alaskans, fighting crime, especially crimes against Alaska Native and all women and preparing Alaska for continuing extreme weather events.
I follow four governing principles:
Advocacy
Cost of Living
Groceries, gasoline, housing, and other costs are climbing continuously with no end in sight. Too many of us barely scrape by paycheck to paycheck. I will vigorously fight to make things better.
Fully fund schoolchildren & teachers:
For eight years Republicans have waged a cruel two-pronged attack on our K-12 schoolchildren and teachers: (i) starving yearly funding per student massively below inflation and (ii) inflicting unlivable retirement funding on teachers. This is a crime (metaphorically). The future of work is Human + AI. Alaska cannot thrive in the 21st century if we don’t seriously educate our children for this future.
For years, Republican attacks have forced schools to cut teachers and classes. Every year, 1,400 Alaskan teachers leave, shockingly costing us 13,000 years of lost experience and $25 million in recruitment costs.
Republicans claim that we can’t afford to fix this. This is FALSE. We don’t have a scarcity problem. We have a False Priorities problem.
I will be Alaska’s EDUCATION GOVERNOR and make education funding my #1 priority.
Grow Revenues
Big oil companies and non-resident workers don’t pay the state their fair share of the money they make here. We lose about one-quarter of one billion dollars in revenue every year. I will vigorously fight to get this money.
Natural Resource Development
I passionately support natural resource development on terms fair for Alaskans and private investors. Alaska will energetically open its doors for business. Local communities will have a voice.
Fight crime involving missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls & two spirit people (MMIWG2S), violence against women & drugs
As a former prosecutor, tribal leader and bush municipal manager, I saw first-hand the agonizing loss of MMIWG2s, drugs pouring into town, and prosecuted men violently hurting and trafficking women. I will elevate these urgent matters to a commissioner position in my administration.
PFD
I will work tirelessly for the biggest PFD possible.
State Voting & Sovereignty
In December 2025 Alaska’s Republican leaders sold out the guts of Alaskan voting. They secretly surrendered confidential information on hundreds of thousands of Alaskan voters to the federal government and gave them the power to dictate removal of Alaskans from our voter rolls. Alaskans must decide who votes in Alaska and run Alaskan elections. On day-one I will terminate all Republican voting sell-outs and fight to restore Alaska’s control of voting sovereignty.
I also support maximizing choice and legal voting by Alaskans. This includes mail ballots, fair timing and procedures for rural residents and ranked choice voting. Republicans oppose all of this because many voters are not buying what they’re selling and they fear full, fair and open competition.
Long Range Fiscal Plan
Alaska is paying out more than is coming in and using up savings. We need a common-sense mix of increased revenue and reduced spending - a long-term fiscal plan.
I pledge to vigorously prepare a real long-term fiscal plan for Alaska in the 21st century. My plan will address the three things we need most: (i) protect the permanent fund for future generations, (ii) maintain public services such as education, infrastructure, and public safety, and (iii) preserve the PFD while determining whether new revenues—such as taxes—should be implemented.
2nd Amendment
I got a concealed-carry permit in 2021, have hunted throughout Alaska and support responsible ownership of guns.
Fishing & Fisheries
Over many years, I worked and lived in many village and coastal communities involved in subsistence, recreational and commercial fishing. I did this in Cook Inlet, Lower Cook Inlet, Resurrection Bay, Prince William Sound, Bristol Bay and the Aleutian and Pribilof Islands.
Indeed, I once ran the two largest municipal governments in Bristol Bay, the heart of the world’s largest red salmon fishery, a $2 billion per year industry. I worked every day with many esteemed commercial processors and executives, fishermen and women (and their families), nonprofits, boat yards, suppliers, mechanics, tourism businesses, marketing entities, and local, state and federal officials.
Even with this substantial experience, I know I am not an expert and won’t pretend to be. I’ve learned that fisheries throughout Alaska is very complex. It involves very strong feelings across the board, livelihoods, real money and conflicting interests. As an Independent candidate for Governor, I pledge to carefully look at all sides, listen to everyone, and learn from all involved. I will treat everyone respectfully in seeking fairness in resolving differences, recognizing that some decisions will not satisfy everyone.
Vigorously Prepare for Extreme Weather Impacts
Republican leaders have done little to prepare Alaska for extreme weather impacts and harm. In October 2025 Typhoon Halong caught everyone unprepared, and I grieve the pain and loss our villages suffered. In this case, the governor, state, village and regional leaders, and many others did an extraordinary job of humanitarian aid and crisis management. But they did it after the damage was done.
Halong is a massive wake up call for Alaska to proactively prepare for a wide range of extreme weather events, including: (i) thawing permafrost and infrastructure damage, (ii) coastal erosion and extreme storm-driven community relocation, (iii) increasing wildfires, and (iv) cryosphere reductions of earth’s frozen components, including loss of sea ice and reductions of glaciers and seasonal snowpack.
The stakes are high. For example, rebuilding or relocating villages run to $1 billion or more. We cannot immediately prevent extreme weather but we can vigorously prepare. I will create an Alaskan version of DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), a high priority state mechanism to address extreme weather in Alaska today and to coordinate the valuable work of the many communities and governmental, nonprofit, university and other groups involved.
Technology, AI & Cyber Crime/Porn
These are growing facts of Alaskan life. As a former high-tech lawyer and prosecutor, I will make these top priorities and elevate them to a commissioner level position.
We have lost our way. The Republican status quo is failing us in our core mission of education, growing revenue and other critically vital matters. I will be Alaska’s EDUCATION GOVERNOR and tirelessly fight to TRANSFORM Alaska for success in the 21st Century.