Eric Chancy Croft (born November 6, 1964) is an American attorney and politician who represented Anchorage's West district on the Anchorage Assembly from 2016 to 2019. From 1997 to 2006, Croft served as a member of the

Alaska House of Representatives The Alaska State 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 approximately 17,756 people per ...

for District 15, representing

Spenard, Anchorage Spenard is a neighborhood in the Municipality of Anchorage, Alaska, United States and was historically a separate city from Anchorage. Spenard maintains the flavor of a separate community today, with "Spenardi Gras" being its primary community c ...

. He was also a candidate in the 2006 Alaska gubernatorial election. He received 23.1% of the vote, losing to 68.6% achieved by former governor Tony Knowles. Croft served as Anchorage's

school board A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...

president from 2013 to 2016. In April 2016, he was elected to the

Anchorage Assembly The Anchorage Assembly is the governing body of Anchorage, Alaska. The Assembly has eleven members elected to three-year terms from six districts. It is responsible for creating and approving the city's annual budget, appropriating municipal fund ...

, replacing Ernie Hall, who decided not to run for reelection.

Early life and education

Eric Chancy Croft was born in

Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...

on November 6, 1964. His parents, Toni (née Williamson) and

Chancy Croft Leland Chancy Croft (August 21, 1937 – August 30, 2022) was a workers' compensation attorney and Democratic Party politician from the U.S. state of Alaska. Elected to the Alaska House of Representatives in 1968, he served a single term from 1 ...

, moved to Alaska in 1962, having previously resided within

West Texas West Texas is a loosely defined region in the U.S. state of Texas, generally encompassing the arid and semiarid lands west of a line drawn between the cities of Wichita Falls, Abilene, and Del Rio. No consensus exists on the boundary betwee ...

. Croft's father served in the

Alaska Legislature The Alaska Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is a bicameral institution consisting of the 40-member Alaska House of Representatives (lower house) and the 20-member Alaska Senate (upper house). There are 40 Hou ...

and was the Democratic candidate in the

1978 Alaska gubernatorial election The 1978 Alaska gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 1978, for the post of governor of Alaska. Republican incumbent Jay Hammond defeated four opponents: former Governor of Alaska and write-in candidate Wally Hickel, Alaska Senator a ...

. His maternal grandfather, John Conwell Williamson (19122001), was a wildcatter in West Texas, who contributed to uncovering oil in both Texas and

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

.Midland, Texas, Reporter-Telegram, August 2, 2001, p. 1. Croft grew up in the South Addition neighborhood adjacent to

downtown Anchorage Downtown Anchorage is a neighborhood in the U.S. city of Anchorage, Alaska. Considered the central business district of Anchorage, Downtown has many office buildings, cultural points of interest, shopping areas, as well as dining and nightlife at ...

, graduating from

West Anchorage High School West Anchorage High School (formerly Anchorage High School) is a public high school in Anchorage, Alaska. The school is part of the Anchorage School District (ASD). Opened in 1953, West is the oldest of ASD's eight major high schools. Serving the ...

in 1982. He went on to

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

, earning an undergraduate degree in

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

. He then received a J.D. degree from

University of California, Hastings College of the Law The University of California, Hastings College of the Law (UC Hastings) is a Public university, public Law school in the United States, law school in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1878 by Serranus Clinton Hastings, UC Hastings was the ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

Career

Eric Croft was first elected to the Alaska House in 1996, four years after graduating law school, and was reelected four times, facing generally nominal opposition in his Democratic Anchorage district. He is a lifetime member of the

National Rifle Association The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...

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 In political science, an initiative (also known as a popular initiative or citizens' initiative) is a means by which a petition signed by a certain number of registered voters can force a government to choose either to enact a law or hold a pu ...

process as well as a strong proponent of the prospective Alaska

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...

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 Louise Palin (; Heath; born February 11, 1964) is an American politician, commentator, author, and reality television personality who served as the ninth governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009. She was the 2008 R ...

to lodge an ethics complaint against Attorney General

Gregg Renkes Gregg Renkes is an American politician, attorney, and lobbyist who served as the Alaska Attorney General from 2002 to 2005. He is currently Senior Counsel with Van Ness Feldman, LLP. Education Renkes earned a Bachelor of Science degree in e ...

, who later resigned from his office.

Electoral history

* 2006 race for governor, primary ** Tony Knowles (D), 68.6% ** Eric Croft (D), 23.1%

Personal life

Croft works as an attorney in Alaska. He and his wife, Joanna Burke Croft, own Alaska Professional Testing, Inc. Joanna Croft, an architect by training, is also an alumnus of

References

External links

Gubernatorial campaign site

AKDemocrats.org page

Eric Croft
at ''100 Years of Alaska's Legislature'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Croft, Eric 1964 births Alaska lawyers Anchorage Assembly members Businesspeople from Alaska Living people Democratic Party members of the Alaska House of Representatives School board members in Alaska Stanford University alumni University of California, Hastings College of the Law alumni 21st-century American politicians