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 Ethan Berkowitz |
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House Minority Leader Ethan Berkowitz, D-Anchorage, has filed to run for governor in the 2006 election.
Berkowitz, 43, filed the required paperwork Monday.
"What made me decide is every journey has to start somewhere, sometime and there's no time like the present," he said Tuesday.
Berkowitz has served in the state House of Representatives since 1997 and as minority leader since 1999. He said many constituents encouraged him to run since returning from this year's legislative session.
"People kept coming up to me and asking if they could contribute (campaign funds) and they can't contribute until I file a letter of intent," Berkowitz said.
Berkowitz said he plans to go on a "listening tour" around the state beginning this summer to hear from the public, which he said has been largely ignored by Republican Gov. Frank Murkowski.
"There's not enough respect given to the public," Berkowitz said. "There's a lot of promises that have been made that have been broken."
He said the Republican-controlled Legislature and administration have reneged on several promises, including not using the Alaska Permanent Fund without a vote of the people and putting an end to the Longevity Bonus program for seniors.
Berkowitz also said the Republican majority has not maintained fiscal discipline in spending this year's oil surplus.
"In my opinion that's a broken promise," he said.
Berkowitz has lived in Alaska since 1990, when he came to the state to work as an appeals court law clerk. He holds an undergraduate degree from Harvard University, a graduate degree from Cambridge University and a law degree from Hastings College of Law in San Francisco.
Sen. Ralph Seekins, R-Anchorage, is the only other gubernatorial candidate so far, but he says he will not run if Murkowski runs for a second term.
