Video: Bronson moves to the middle, aligns with JKT repeatedly, while dumping on Dunleavy administration at forum

By SUZANNE DOWNING

Sept. 17, 2026 – Gubernatorial hopeful Dave Bronson worked to earn the liberal vote on Wednesday, repeatedly agreeing with Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins while delivering a blistering assessment of the Dunleavy administration during a gubernatorial forum sponsored by the Alaska Hospital and Healthcare Association.

Bronson described the Dunleavy government as failing, described multiple agencies as dysfunctional and blamed Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s relationship with the Alaska Legislature for the lack of progress on major issues, including a natural gas pipeline.

At multiple  points during the forum, Bronson expressly endorsed observations made by Kreiss-Tomkins, the leading Democrat in the race for governor. He did not offer his own solutions, but agreed with JKT’s solutions.

“Jonathan is right. The state is dysfunctional in very many areas, and this is a particularly bad one,” Bronson said while discussing the Alaska Department of Health.

Watch video: Bronson aligning with JKT

Later, while addressing the broader performance of state government, Bronson again cited Kreiss-Tomkins approvingly.

“I think a lot of government, like Jonathan said, is highly dysfunctional,” Bronson said.

Bronson went even further, saying that he and Kreiss-Tomkins not only identified the same problem but favored the same solution.

“We’re tired of the fighting,” Bronson said. “I mean, Jonathan and I are on opposite ends of the political spectrum, and we see the exact same problem and have the exact same solutions: Go down there and talk to people. Work with them, because you’re not going to get anything done if you’re fighting the Legislature.”

Near the conclusion of his remarks, Bronson agreed with Kreiss-Tomkins for a third time.

“Jonathan is right. You’ve got to listen before you talk,” he said. “And you’ve got to understand where that person is coming from and what they’re trying to accomplish.”

Those agreements came amid a sustained attack on the Republican administration that has governed Alaska for eight years.

Bronson opened his remarks by declaring that the state is failing, particularly in the Department of Health.

“The numbers that you gave don’t lie,” he said. “We are failing at a state level, especially in the Department of Health.”

Bronson said that, if elected, he would immediately order a review of the department’s operations, including its handling of Medicaid applications and eligibility paperwork.

“We’re disenrolling people,” he said. “People are becoming disenrolled because the state is not conducting its own paperwork correctly.”

He also raised allegations of waste within the department.

“I am told — I’m not saying I believe it — but a lot of the waste in government, a lot of it, is in the Department of Health,” Bronson said. “And if there’s waste, that means the people who are supposed to get the help are not getting it.”

Bronson’s criticism then expanded from the Department of Health to the entire Dunleavy administration.

Quoting the famous line from the movie “Cool Hand Luke,” Bronson said Juneau has suffered from “a failure to communicate.” He blamed old political disputes and deteriorated relationships between Dunleavy and legislators for preventing the state from making progress.

“Old relationships between the governor, when he was senator, and bad relationships have carried through, and we’ve got a lot of things that just aren’t getting done,” Bronson said.

He tied those broken relationships directly to the lack of progress on a natural gas pipeline.

“Government is suffering, and where we’re suffering is that we don’t have a gas line because of that,” he said.

Bronson argued that the governor must be willing to visit legislators personally, listen to their priorities and work collaboratively even when lawmakers are hostile to the administration.

“You can feel good about fighting with the Legislature, or you can go down there and win for the people,” he said, implying that Dunleavy did not attempt to work with the Democrat-dominated Legislature.

Bronson then offered perhaps his most sweeping judgment of Dunleavy’s tenure.

“You’re going to feel good about fighting, probably, if that’s what you’re inclined to do, but you’re not going to win anything, because we haven’t won anything in eight years,” he said.

Near the end of the forum, Bronson returned to the subject, saying the governor must “swallow your pride” and regularly visit legislators’ offices to ask what they are trying to accomplish.

“You simply have to do that,” Bronson said. “And quite frankly, in the last eight years, that hasn’t been done at all. And we’re paying the price for that right now.”

“This government is failing on many levels,” he added, “and it’s because of relationships.”

The election for governor ends Nov. 3, with early voting beginning Oct. 19. Three Republicans, including Bronson, face one Democrat on the November ballot. The Republicans are leading candidate Bernadette Wilson, former attorney general Treg Taylor, and former Anchorage Mayor Bronson. JKT is a former House representative for Sitka.