Bennie Colbert
Bennie Colbert (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Alaska House of Representatives to represent District 1. He lost in the Alaska Democratic and Independence parties primary on August 18, 2020.
Colbert completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Colbert's professional experience includes working as a realtor and as the executive director of a property management company. He earned his bachelor's degree from Arizona State University in 2000. Colbert is the president of the local Fairbanks Chapter of the NAACP Branch Unit 1001.
Elections
2020
See also: Alaska House of Representatives elections, 2020
General election
General election for Alaska House of Representatives District 1
Incumbent Bart LeBon defeated Christopher Quist in the general election for Alaska House of Representatives District 1 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Bart LeBon (R) | 55.3 | 3,769 |
 | Christopher Quist (D) | 44.4 | 3,027 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.3 | 19 | ||
| Total votes: 6,815 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Alaska House of Representatives District 1
Incumbent Bart LeBon advanced from the Republican primary for Alaska House of Representatives District 1 on August 18, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Bart LeBon | 100.0 | 1,037 |
| Total votes: 1,037 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Alaska Democratic and Independence parties primary election
Alaska Democratic and Independence parties primary for Alaska House of Representatives District 1
Christopher Quist defeated Bennie Colbert in the Alaska Democratic and Independence parties primary for Alaska House of Representatives District 1 on August 18, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Christopher Quist | 50.3 | 702 |
| Bennie Colbert | 49.7 | 694 | |
| Total votes: 1,396 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Bennie Colbert completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Colbert's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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My name is Bennie Colbert, and I'm excited to be running for Alaska House District 1 in Fairbanks. As a home grown boy, I appreciate you in the Golden Heart City who have inspired, motivated, and supported me on so many occasions. My desire to give back to you - my friends and neighbors - motivated me to run for office. I firmly believe in strong education for our children, good affordable healthcare for all Alaskans, and diversification to create a robust energy economy that meets the needs of Alaska families.
I will fight for you - for stronger wages, lower healthcare costs, and for a sustainable economy for all Alaskans so our families can grow here, and stay here. If these issues resonate with you, I would be proud to have your vote. I will fight for you and your family.
- Healthcare is a very sensitive topic for me due to the fact that I am a recent cancer survivor. After recently losing a relative to COVID-19, I feel the pain and frustration of our healthcare challenges, just as many of you do. As your Representative, I will fight every day to ensure that every Alaskan has access to affordable and comprehensive healthcare in our community.
- Secondly, As a local graduate of West Valley High School and Arizona State University I support full-funding of education in our community from K-12 to the university of Alaska, as well as essential early education programs that start kids out strong.
- Finally, to ensure our future economic stability, we must rise to the challenge of diversifying our energy economy. We must continue to pursue natural gas development and resources, and also take advantage of the many sustainable energy sources and solutions that will carry us into the future.
I am most passionate about improving our access to affordable healthcare and as well as implementing smart policy that will best stabilize our post-pandemic economy.
Healthcare is such a crucial issue to me, especially during a global pandemic. Alaskans had done a fairly good job of keeping the viral spread to a minimum, however, I fear we are now backtracking on our progress. The state's response has been palatable; but we are seeing numbers because we opened our state too soon and not enough people are taking personal responsibility for doing the right thing for public health.
Finally, to ensure our future economic stability, we must rise to the challenge of diversifying our energy economy. We must continue to pursue natural gas development and resources, and also take advantage of the many sustainable energy sources and solutions that will carry us into the future. I tie energy and economy together because they are both significantly linked to the oil industry. Once the lifeblood to Alaska in both areas, it is no longer as sustainable as it once was, either as an energy source or as an economic driver. We need to diversify on both fronts, from continuing our pursuits in natural gas and identifying new revenue sources such as a state income tax.
The people I look up to the most are my Mom and Dad. From the earliest time I can remember, my parents have had an open door policy for anyone that is need, be it housing, clothes, or financial support. With that being said, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. I love my community and I love the fact that the people of Fairbanks and the state of Alaska come together when the times get get tough. This resilience and support for one another are something that both my parents embody. One of the things I most admire about my parents is that they stepped up to the plate to adopt twelve children out of the Fairbanks community who suffered from fetal alcohol syndrome and mental illness. I look up to them as my personal angels and as my personal angels, I have never been afraid to share them.
I am a teachable person who is willing to learn and listen to both my constituents as well as my colleagues.
I believe listening to the people of my district as well as other Alaskans and being able and willing to collaborate with my fellow legislatures constructively for the betterment of our state to be the most crucial core responsibilities of an elected representative.
One of my favorite books was Alex Haley's Roots because it was the most accurate depiction of what history once was.
I believe that it is beneficial but not necessary. There are plenty of intelligent people that I believe could do just as well if not better in the state legislature by bringing in valuable community and a fresh perspective.
The greatest challenge over the next decade is balancing the state budget and boosting Alaska's economy.
Of course I believe it is beneficial to build relationships between legislatures. The only way we can get policies passed is if we come together as one and hash out our differences respectfully.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2020 Elections
External links
Footnotes
