Eric Croft
Encyclopedia
Eric Croft was a Democratic
State Representative
from Anchorage
, Alaska
and was a candidate in the August 2006 Democratic gubernatorial primary election in Alaska. He received 23.1% of the vote, losing to 68.6% achieved by former governor Tony Knowles
(D).
, and went on to Stanford University
earning an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering
; his mother Toni, his uncle Ralph Ervin Williamson, and his sister Kymberly Croft Miller all also graduated from Stanford University.
Croft then received a law degree from the University of California's
Hastings College of Law. His maternal grandfather, JC (John Conwell) Williamson, 1912–2001, was a wildcatter in West Texas whose geology found more oil in Texas and New Mexico than any contemporary.
Croft is an attorney in Alaska. He and his wife, Joanna Burke Croft, own Alaska Professional Testing, Inc. Joanna Croft is a Stanford University-trained architect
.
and received both the 2003 NRA Defender of Freedom and Gun Rights Legislator of the Year awards. He is a strong supporter in Alaska's initiative
process as well as a strong proponent of the prospective Alaska natural gas
pipeline. A strong supporter of gender parity, he is "pro-choice," supporting a woman's right to privacy regarding her procreative rights but subject to the right to life of a viable fetus.
He announced his candidacy for Governor in 2006 focusing on natural resource issues and that Alaskans get their "fair share" of the state's resource wealth.
He joined with future Governor Sarah Palin
to lodge an ethics complaint against Attorney General Gregg Renkes, who later resigned from his office.
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
State Representative
Alaska House of Representatives
The Alaska House of Representatives is the lower house in the Alaska Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. The House is composed of 40 members, each of whom represents a district of about 15,673 people . Members serve two-year terms without term limits...
from Anchorage
Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States...
, Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
and was a candidate in the August 2006 Democratic gubernatorial primary election in Alaska. He received 23.1% of the vote, losing to 68.6% achieved by former governor Tony Knowles
Tony Knowles (politician)
Anthony Carroll Knowles is an American Democratic politician and businessman who served as the seventh Governor of Alaska from December 1994 to December 2002. Barred from seeking a third consecutive term as governor in 2002, he ran unsuccessfully for Senate in 2004 and again for governor in...
(D).
Personal
Eric Croft was born in Anchorage in 1964 and is the son of former State Representative, State Senator, and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chancy Croft of West Texas and of Toni Williamson Croft of Midland, Texas. He grew up in Anchorage, attending West Anchorage High SchoolWest Anchorage High School
West Anchorage High School is a public high school in Anchorage in the U.S. state of Alaska and part of the Anchorage School District.-History:The school was established as Anchorage High School in 1953, during a boom period in Anchorage...
, and went on to Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
earning an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
; his mother Toni, his uncle Ralph Ervin Williamson, and his sister Kymberly Croft Miller all also graduated from Stanford University.
Croft then received a law degree from the University of California's
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
Hastings College of Law. His maternal grandfather, JC (John Conwell) Williamson, 1912–2001, was a wildcatter in West Texas whose geology found more oil in Texas and New Mexico than any contemporary.
Croft is an attorney in Alaska. He and his wife, Joanna Burke Croft, own Alaska Professional Testing, Inc. Joanna Croft is a Stanford University-trained architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
.
Political
Eric Croft was first elected to the Alaska House in 1996, four years after graduating law school, and was re-elected four times, facing generally nominal opposition in his Democratic Anchorage district. He is a lifetime member of the National Rifle AssociationNational Rifle Association
The National Rifle Association of America is an American non-profit 501 civil rights organization which advocates for the protection of the Second Amendment of the United States Bill of Rights and the promotion of firearm ownership rights as well as marksmanship, firearm safety, and the protection...
and received both the 2003 NRA Defender of Freedom and Gun Rights Legislator of the Year awards. He is a strong supporter in Alaska's initiative
Initiative
In political science, an initiative is a means by which a petition signed by a certain minimum number of registered voters can force a public vote...
process as well as a strong proponent of the prospective Alaska natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
pipeline. A strong supporter of gender parity, he is "pro-choice," supporting a woman's right to privacy regarding her procreative rights but subject to the right to life of a viable fetus.
He announced his candidacy for Governor in 2006 focusing on natural resource issues and that Alaskans get their "fair share" of the state's resource wealth.
He joined with future Governor Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin
Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...
to lodge an ethics complaint against Attorney General Gregg Renkes, who later resigned from his office.
Electoral history
- 2006 race for Governor, primary
- Tony KnowlesTony Knowles (politician)Anthony Carroll Knowles is an American Democratic politician and businessman who served as the seventh Governor of Alaska from December 1994 to December 2002. Barred from seeking a third consecutive term as governor in 2002, he ran unsuccessfully for Senate in 2004 and again for governor in...
(D), 68.6% - Eric Croft (D), 23.1%
- Tony Knowles