Jason S. Grenn (born 1981) is an American politician from Alaska. Grenn served as an independent member of the Alaska House of Representatives from the 22nd district, which covers the Sand Lake-area neighborhoods in Anchorage, Alaska.[1] He beat incumbent Liz Vazquez in the 2016 general election and was defeated by Sara Rasmussen in 2018.[2]

Jason Grenn
Jason Grenn in August 2018
Member of the Alaska House of Representatives from the 22nd District
In office
January 17, 2017 – January 16, 2019
Preceded byLiz Vazquez
Succeeded bySara Rasmussen
Personal details
Born1981 (age 42–43)
Anchorage, Alaska
Political partyIndependent
SpouseJana Grenn
Children3
Residence(s)Anchorage, Alaska
Alma materNorthwest Nazarene University
OccupationNon-profit manager

Political career edit

In Grenn's 2016 campaign, he has said his main objective was to help solve an Alaskan fiscal crisis; a bill said to do that failed to pass in the 2015-16 legislature. While in office, Grenn was able to pass a major legislative ethics bill (HB44) and championed economic development innovations for Alaska. He also received the 2018 "Friend of Education" award from the Anchorage Education Association and received a "Legislative Recognition" award from the Alaska Tourism Industry Association.[1] Grenn identifies as a social liberal and fiscal conservative.[3] After his loss to Republican Sara Rasmussen, Grenn stayed in politics as the Executive Director of Alaskans for Better Elections, a group supporting the reforms of 2020 Alaska Measure 2. Measure 2 narrowly passed in November 2020 and Alaskans for Better Elections converted into a voter education group to ensure that the reforms of Measure 2 were implemented well.[4]

Electoral history edit

2016 edit

Alaska's House district 22 election, 2016[5]
Party Candidate Votes %
Independent Jason Grenn 3,561 46.33%
Republican Liz Vazquez (incumbent) 3,375 43.91%
Independence Dustin Darden 730 9.50%
Write-ins Write-ins 20 0.26%
Total votes 7,686 100%

2018 edit

Alaska's House district 22 election, 2018
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Sara Rasmussen 3,478 47.14%
Independent Jason Grenn (incumbent) 3,031 41.08%
Democratic Dustin Darden 860 11.66%
Write-ins Write-ins 9 0.12%
Total votes 7,378 100%
Republican gain from Independent

Personal life edit

A lifelong resident of Anchorage, he graduated from Dimond High School in 1999 and from Northwest Nazarene University in 2003.[3][6]

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Reluctant first-time candidate wins a House seat and a chance to fix the mess that made him run". Alaska Dispatch News. Retrieved 2016-11-24.
  2. ^ "Alaska 22nd District State House Results: Jason Grenn Leads". The New York Times. Retrieved 2016-11-24.
  3. ^ a b Aronno, John (2016-10-09). "Meet Jason Grenn, the Underdog Independent from West Anchorage". Alaska Commons. Retrieved 2016-11-24.
  4. ^ https://alaskansforbetterelections.com/
  5. ^ "2016 Alaska General Election" (PDF).
  6. ^ "Jason Grenn—House District 22—Non-Affiliated" (PDF). Alaska Division of Elections. Retrieved 2016-11-24.

External links edit