Former lawmaker Binkley eyes return to office

March 21, 2006

JOEL DAVIDSON

Frontiersman reporter

MAT-SU - Dressed in blue jeans and a tan work shirt, 53-year-old Alaska gubernatorial candidate John Binkley stopped by the Frontiersman offices Friday to introduce himself and make a case that he's the man to lead Alaska in the post-Frank Murkowski era.

A third-generation riverboat captain from Western Alaska, Binkley, a Republican, carries a lean frame with a head of thick gray hair and a face that betrays countless hours along the river. He's now ready to trade time on the water for an office in Juneau.

If elected governor, it won't be the first time Binkley serves in the state's capital - just the first time in nearly a generation.

Sixteen years ago, Binkley retired after serving two years as a state representative and four years as a state senator for the Alaska Legislature. At the time of his departure he was 37 and said he wanted to spend more time with his wife and four young children.

“It took so much time away from home, and our first focus was on the family. So, reluctantly, I chose to step back and leave the Legislature,” he explained.

During his time away from public office, Binkley worked with his children in the family business, Riverboat Discovery, a riverboat tour that operates out of Fairbanks. With the kids grown, though, and the blessings of his wife Judy behind him, Binkley is ready to step away from the river and wade back into politics.

Of course, Binkley has more than family support behind his 2006 campaign. Since announcing his candidacy in December, he raised more than $350,000 in campaign funds from Republican allies and other supporters - something that indicates he has considerable support from the established power structure of the reigning Republican Party.

A lifelong Republican, Binkley still admits to being a little surprised that he could generate that kind of support in just a few weeks. He's quick to admit, however, that he didn't exactly drop off the radar screen for the past 15 years.

Working with dozens of statewide and community service organizations, Binkley continues to serve on the board of directors with the Alaska Railroad Corporation, Enstar Natural Gas, American Heart Association, and the Alaska/Siberia Research Center, as well as serving on the advisory boards for Alaska Airlines and American Seafoods.

“Through those [organizations] people have an opportunity to get to know you from around the state and get a sense of who you are,” he said. “A lot of people over the years have asked me to get back into politics.”

And it's not just party-line Republicans, he said.

Binkley's reputation for reaching across party lines, as a young state representative and senator, is not forgotten by several lifelong and influential Alaska Democrats.

When running for the state house in 1985, the young Binkley lived in Bethel, where Bush communities are predominantly Democrat-leaning.

As a non-Native, he quickly made a reputation for himself as a person who listened to issues and did his homework, said Rep. Lyman Hoffman, D-Bethel. Hoffman, a 20-year lawmaker, first worked with Binkley when he was a city council member for Bethel and Hoffman was the city manager.

According to Hoffman, Binkley, despite being an outsider, was able to understand and articulate Alaska Native concerns, especially as they related to alcohol abuse and commercial fishing.

“We had to work real close on many issues,” Hoffman said. “He works very hard to know and understand the issues. He will bend on some issues, but he won't give up on something he really believes in.”

As a legislator, Binkley focused much of his energy tackling alcohol problems in Alaska villages and dealing with ways to bolster the commercial fishing industry for the state.

“Over my six years in the Legislature, those are the issues that really define me,” Binkley said.

For the first time in his political career, Hoffman said he is supporting a Republican for governor because he believes Binkley will cross party lines to solve problems.

“I've seen 20 years of politicians, and for me to cross party lines is something new,” he said. “I think John is going to get a lot of support from both sides of the aisle and from rural Alaska.”

While strong bipartisan support for his candidacy remains to be seen, Binkley said the Republican base will be key to his election hopes.

“I typically align myself with the values and the platform of the Republican Party,” he said. “I'm a Republican, and I want the Republican base - it's a large base.”

At the same time, Binkley said he thinks the next governor needs to win back public confidence after a slew of ethics scandals rocked the Republican Party in recent years.

“Today, the economy is moving forward in Alaska, yet people don't feel good about their government,” he said. “I think the government works better when you have the confidence of the people behind you. I think those things are missing now.”

Bill Sheffield, the Democratic governor who led Alaska from 1982 to 1986, isn't letting on whom he supports for the 2006 election, but he did say Binkley was a workaholic, who is qualified for the job.

“You won't outwork John,” he said. “When he gets into an issue, he gets all the way into it. But he suffers from the same problems I do. He wants to know everything, and, in a sense, he wants to run everything.”

If Binkley is elected, Sheffield said he hopes he could rejuvenate Alaska politics.

“In the old days, there were Democrats and Republicans working on the merits of the issues,” he said. “We might have disagreed, but we'd still go out afterwards and have a cup of coffee that night as friends.”

Sheffield said he thinks Binkley has the personality to bring the parties together again.

“People won't hate John,” he said. “He's young, he's got ambition, and he'll outwork them all.”

Contact Joel Davidson at

352-2266 or joel.davidson@

frontiersman.com.