A retired school teacher and principal from the small Southeast Alaska City of Angoon entered Alaska’s 2026 governor’s race earlier this month.
James Parkin filed a letter of intent to run for governor on July 1. He is one of six Republican candidates who have filed, including Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, former state Sen. Click Bishop and Mat-Su Borough Mayor Edna DeVries. Retired Anchorage podiatrist Matt Heilala and Conservative activist Bernadette Wilson are also in the running.
This is Parkin’s first campaign for public office.
In an interview on Monday, Parkin said he is a supporter of large Permanent Fund dividends, increased state funding to school districts and the revival of a pension plan for state employees. He also wants to eliminate homelessness.
He said, if elected, he believes he can lead the state to achieve all of those priorities while still cutting back state spending.
“I think what we need to do is work on efficiency — and I think that the state has been doing some good things in that direction — I’d just like to push us forward a little bit more,” he said. “I have some other ideas I think that will be helpful to move us towards a budget that’s more sustainable.”
The state would need to make severe cuts to services or dramatically increase its revenue to pay for a full statutory dividend. Its expenses would also increase if there’s a significant boost in funding to schools. While he said he has a few ideas to cut down on spending, it doesn’t include implementing a state income tax.
Parkin has lived in Alaska for more than 30 years, living in different parts of the state before settling in Angoon. Parkin is a retired teacher and principal at Angoon’s Chatham School District. He now works for Coeur Alaska’s Kensington mine near Juneau.
He said Alaska voters should choose him over the other Republican candidates because he intends to work with the Alaska State Legislature — not against it — to make changes constituents have been asking for.
“It’s a cooperative and collaborative thing — the governor and the legislature and the departments,” he said. “We’ve all got to work together to come up with some ideas — some new ideas, some fresh ideas — that are going to eliminate the waste, that are going to increase the efficiency.”
No registered Democratic candidates have entered the 2026 governor’s race so far. Current Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy is terming out and cannot seek reelection. The deadline to file is June 1, 2026.
