Longtime state Sen. Johnny Ellis has died. He was 61.
Friend and former staffer Deb Bonito confirmed that Ellis died Wednesday in Harrison, Arkansas while visiting his brother.
“He was such an honest and enthusiastic public servant to the end,” she said in a text message Thursday. “His last text was sent out yesterday, reminding friends to vote in the upcoming April election.”
Ellis represented neighborhoods near downtown Anchorage in the state Senate from 1992 until he retired for medical reasons in 2017. He was first elected to the state House in 1986.
He was a powerful figure in the Alaska Democratic Party and news of his death prompted an outpouring of grief Thursday from friends and former colleagues who lauded his kindness, mentorship and hard work for Alaskans.
“He lived in Fairview and represented the people of Fairview, always — always doing the right thing and working hard to make sure there were opportunities for people who needed them,” said Bonito, who was his friend for 40 years.
Ellis had serious illnesses in his final years in the Senate, including cancer and multiple sclerosis.
“His mobility wasn’t great, but (he was) still involved and enthusiastic about life, and always calling people together to meet for lunch or dinner, or go to a movie,” Bonito said. “So it really took us all by surprise.”
Ellis was born in 1960 in Springfield, Missouri. His father was in the Air Force and the family moved to Alaska in 1975. Ellis graduated from Bartlett High and Claremont McKenna College.
It wasn’t until he was 56 that he came out as gay. It was a secret he kept, even from his closest friends, to dedicate himself to being a legislator.
“It would have affected my district and vulnerable and low-income people in Mountain View and Fairview who had elected me and put their confidence in me, and were expecting me to represent their views and to take care of their interests,” he told Anchorage Daily News columnist Charles Wohlforth in 2016, just before he left office.
Bonito, who talked to his brother, said Ellis wasn’t feeling well Wednesday afternoon and was on his way to a clinic when he became unresponsive.
Liz Ruskin is the Washington, D.C., correspondent at Alaska Public Media. Reach her at lruskin@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Liz here.
