My name is Cliff Groh, and I’m a lifelong Alaskan, dad, former prosecutor, and co-creator of the Permanent Fund Dividend.

I’m running for House because I’ve always cared deeply about Alaska’s future. I was born and raised in Anchorage, and I have worked tirelessly to protect Alaska’s fiscal future for decades.

While working in the Alaska State Legislature, I co-created the 1982 law establishing the Permanent Fund Dividend Alaska has today. I firmly believe in the importance of protecting the Dividend, which has become a political football and is at risk of being stolen from future generations. I was heavily involved in a successful effort to pass major oil tax legislation while serving as Special Assistant to the Alaska Commissioner of Revenue from 1987-1990, which provided billions in revenue to the state over a period of years.

Additionally, I have authored several chapters in academic books about the Permanent Fund Dividend, and taught a course I created at the University of Alaska Anchorage entitled “Navigating Alaska’s Fiscal and Economic Challenges”. I have since the mid-1990s been on the board of Alaska Common Ground, a public policy organization focused on helping Alaskans seek consensus on the major issues facing the state. Each of Alaska’s fiscal issues affect working class people differently, and it’s important for me to understand each and every one of them.

I have also worked as a prosecutor and city attorney. I’ve taken child abusers and perpetrators of domestic violence off the street, and successfully argued before the 9th Circuit Court to allow unmarried couples — including same-sex couples — the right to rent from landlords.

I’m running for office because our state is at a critical breaking point. The working class people of Anchorage are tired of the chaos created by the mismanagement of Alaska’s finances. I have the policy experience it takes to address these issues, and I know what it takes to bring Alaskans from different political backgrounds together. I will fight for working families working paycheck-to-paycheck that are struggling with inflation, the high cost of housing, and uncertainty over the Dividend debacle. I will work tirelessly with legislators from all parties and the Governor to find solutions for Alaskans.