Hurley, as Katherine T. Alexander, was a government official in the latter days of the Territory of Alaska, who married Alaska constitution signer James J. "Jim" Hurley in 1960 and settled in his home area, the Matanuska-Susitna Valley. While still involved in Democratic Party politics, Hurley was largely out of the public eye at that point, busy raising her daughters in Wasilla. Croft's campaign would be the first of three times in Alaska gubernatorial elections that the major party nominee came in third in the general election. The campaign was overshadowed by the aftermath of the Republican primary between incumbent Jay Hammond and former governor Walter Hickel. Hickel lost the primary by 98 votes, and after an extensive court challenge, launched a write-in campaign. Both Hammond (who won reelection) and Hickel outpolled Croft in the general election. He was a member of the University of Alaska Board of Regents from 1995 until 2003; he was chairman from 2001 to 2002. He has worked to provide educational service to rural Alaska communities while guiding the university toward increased distance delivery education. He is responsible for establishing the Regents Scholarship benefiting UA junior, senior and graduate students. Croft holds an Honorary Doctor of Law from the University of Alaska Anchorage. Legal career Chancy Croft has appeared before the Alaska Supreme Court in over sixty cases, winning two-thirds of those cases. In at least twelve cases, he has lost to the Alaska Workers Compensation Board and in the Alaska Superior Court, only to succeed in the Supreme Court. He practices with The Croft Law Office, located in an older downtown Anchorage office building near the Conoco-Phillips Building. In 1986, his article, Something More Important Than Money: Vocational Rehabilitation in Workers Compensation Cases, was published in the Alaska Law Review. The article lauded the Alaska statute providing injured workers with training for new careers. The legislature promptly repealed the statute. More recently he unsuccessfully worked with the legislature on potential changes to the Alaska Workers Compensation Act. In 2005, he sued the governor of Alaska, challenging the constitutionality of legislation which created a new executive court to hear appeals from decisions of the Alaska Workers Compensation Board. Personal life Leland Chancy Croft is commonly known by his middle name, which is also his mother's maiden name. His oldest child, Eric (see below), bears the same middle name. He is married to Antoinette Ruth "Toni"