Kevin G. Clarkson (born April 27, 1959) is an American attorney from the state of

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

who was the 32nd

Alaska Attorney General The Alaska Attorney General is the chief legal advisor to the Government of Alaska, government of the State of Alaska and to its List of Governors of Alaska, governor. The Attorney General is appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Alaska L ...

from 2018 to 2020.

Early life and career

After earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctor ...

, Clarkson graduated cum laude from the

Willamette University College of Law The Willamette University School of Law (previously known as the Willamette University College of Law) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Willamette University. Located in Salem, Oregon, Salem, Oregon, and founded in 1883, Wil ...

in 1985. He worked for the law firm

Perkins Coie Perkins Coie LLP ( ) is an American law firm based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1912, it is recognized by The American Lawyer as being one of the top 50 firms in the US. It is the largest law firm headquartered in the Pacific Northwest and ...

from 1985 to 1995 and for Brena, Bell & Clarkson, P.C. from 1985 to 2018.

Alaska Attorney General

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Mike Dunleavy appointed him as Alaska's attorney general on December 5, 2018. He was confirmed by the

Alaska Legislature The Alaska State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is a bicameral institution consisting of the 40-member Alaska House of Representatives (lower house) and the 20-member Alaska Senate (upper house). There a ...

on April 17, 2019.

Texting and Resignation

In August 2020, Clarkson was placed on administrative leave by the Alaska State Human Resources Department, with Ed Sniffen being delegated his authority. According to investigations by media organizations, a junior state employee had complained about 558 text messages Clarkson had sent to her during March 2020. In the text messages, he had asked the woman to come to his house at least 18 times. Many of these requests were punctuated with the kiss emoji and comments about the woman's beauty. He resigned from his post on August 25, 2020. Deputy Attorney General Ed Sniffen served as acting Attorney General, pending Dunleavy's selection of a permanent replacement. Ed Sniffen resigned after allegations of him having an affair with a 17-year-old in 1991. Treg Taylor was then appointed.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarkson, Kevin 1959 births Alaska attorneys general Alaska Republicans Living people Oregon State University alumni Politicians from Anchorage, Alaska Willamette University College of Law alumni People associated with Perkins Coie