Heilala hires campaign veteran Tom Wright

By SUZANNE DOWNING

Gubernatorial candidate Matt Heilala announced an expansion of his campaign leadership team. Longtime Alaska legislative leader Tom Wright, sometimes known as “the 61st legislator,” has joined the campaign as campaign manager. Wright headed legislative offices in Alaska for more than 35 years, serving under four Speakers of the House over two decades: Rep. Ramona Barnes, Rep. Brian Porter, Rep. John Harris, and four-time Speaker Rep. Mike Chenault of Kenai.

Wright also served as Staff Chair of the National Conference of State Legislatures during the 2014–2015 term. In September 2014, he became campaign manager for then-Gov. Sean Parnell, who was defeated that fall by Bill Walker. Outside of politics, Wright has commercially fished in Cook Inlet since 1991 and retired from the Alaska Legislature in 2024.

Fourth-generation Alaskan Ryan Sheldon, who joined the Heilala campaign earlier this year, will continue as deputy campaign manager. Sheldon’s great-grandfather and grandfather were aviation pioneers in Alaska. Sheldon continues that family tradition through the family aviation business headquartered in Talkeetna.

Veteran political consultant Art Hackney is the campaign’s strategic advisor and media consultant. Hackney is Alaska’s longest-serving political consultant, with a career dating back to the 1980s. He has worked on campaigns for U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, U.S. Rep. Don Young, and Gov. Frank Murkowski, as well as Governors Murkowski and Mike Dunleavy. Hackney has also advised more than 150 Alaska House and Senate campaigns.