Bill Walker (American politician)

Career

Walker graduated from Valdez High School in 1969, received his B.S. in Business Management from Lewis & Clark College in 1973, and his J.D. from the University of Puget Sound School of Law in 1983 He and his wife owned a law firm for a while that focused on municipal and oil and gas law. In 1977-1979 he served in the Valdez city council, as city attorney for Valdez, and as general counsel for the Alaska Gasoline Port Authority. He later was elected as mayor of Valdez, Alaska from 1979-1980, becoming Valdez's youngest mayor at 27.

2010 Election

Walker challenged incumbent Governor Sean Parnell as well as Gerald L. Heikes, Merica Hlatcu, Sam Little, and Ralph Samuels in the Republican Party primary election on August 24, 2010. Walker finished in second, with 33.95% of the vote, while Parnell won the nomination with 49.49%. The Alaska gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 2010 and Sean Parnell took the win over his opponent of the Democratic Party, Ethan Berkowitz.

2014 Election

In 2013, Walker announced his intention to run in the 2014 gubernatorial election as a Republican. Later that year, he decided to run as an nonpartisan candidate, taking the advice and encouragement he had received from former Alaska governor Wally Hickel prior to his 2010 campaign.

Walker selected Craig Fleener, a former Deputy Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, to run for Lieutenant Governor on his ticket. He campaigned on a centrist platform, mixing traditionally conservative and liberal positions. Walker opposes the construction of the Pebble Mine and acknowledged the existence of climate change and the need to adopt energy policies to help mitigate its harmful effects, but supports increasing oil and gas pipeline capacities and new drilling for petroleum in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. He supports gun rights and a degree of state sovereignty for Alaska. He supports the Medicaid expansion brought on by the Affordable Care Act.

On September 2, 2014, Walker held a press conference with Byron Mallott, the Democratic Party nominee for governor, announcing that they would merge their campaigns, with Mallott replacing Fleener as his running mate. Mallott's Democratic running mate for Lt. Governor, attorney and State Senator Hollis French also stepped aside, leaving no official Democratic party candidate in the general election. Prior to their announcement the merger was met with resistance from the Alaska Republican Party, but was ruled as a valid action by the Alaska Supreme Court.

Walker led in polls taken weeks before the November 4, 2014 general election. Parnell was widely criticized for his support of billions in unpopular tax reductions for the petrochemical industry and the development of a scandal featuring five years of alleged cover ups with regard to rampant sexual abuse, cronyism, corruption and whistleblower suppression in the Alaska National Guard, for which Parnell served as Commander in Chief. Following Election Day, the race was considered too close to call. On November 7, Walker and Mallott held a 3,165-vote lead. On November 14, after Walker and Mallott extended their lead to 4,634 votes, media outlets called the race. Two days later, Parnell conceded.

Governor of Alaska

Walker took the oath of office on December 1, 2014. He faces a Republican-controlled legislature, but the Republican majorities are not enough to override a gubernatorial veto. With the Republican legislature opposed to Walker's attempts to expand Medicaid, Walker decided to use his executive authority to do so.

As governor, Walker has attended many events across Alaska, such as the Annual Governor's Picnic which took place in Fairbanks at Pioneer Park on Sunday, June 7, 2015, in Anchorage at Delaney Park Strip on Saturday, August 1, 2015, and in Juneau at the University of Alaska Southeast on Friday, August 14, 2015. He also flew into Sitka after seven landslides devastated the town, causing extensive damage and killing three. He was able to secure $1 million to help in the recovery.

On November 5, 2015, Walker signed the buyout bill for TransCanada's quarter share in the Alaska Liquefied Natural Gas (AKLNG) project. Alaska's share of the project will cost the state $12 to $18 billion to construct in return for the one-quarter share for what it produces, which estimates that the state will make $1 to $1.2 billion per year when gas starts flowing. The project is expected to open up around 10,000 construction jobs if work begins in the 2020's like planned. Due to the low oil prices in 2015, however, Alaska is looking at a $4 billion per year deficit. Budget cuts and raised taxes will be put into place to help support this. Governor Walker hopes to release his budget for this next fiscal year, July 1st to June 30th, 2016, by December 15th, 2015. In December 2015, Walker proposed reinstating a statewide income tax as well as reducing annual payments to qualified state residents from the Alaska Permanent Fund as a means of filling a $3.2 billion gap in the state's budget.

Personal life

Walker was born in Fairbanks, Alaska and raised in Delta Junction and Valdez. He was the fourth child of Alaskan Pioneers, Ed and Frances Walker. Ed was an Alaskan Scout with Castner's Cutthroats in the Aleutian Islands during World War II and Frances worked on the Alaska-Canadian Highway. During the 1964 Alaska earthquake, Walker was working in the family's construction business as a carpenter, laborer, and teamster on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, which kept him away from danger and helped him pay for his education. However, his family lost most of their personal and business possessions during the earthquake. At the age of 12, Walker became a janitor to help his family.

Bill resides in Anchorage, Alaska, with his wife of 39 years, Donna. The couple has four children and four grandchildren. He enjoys fishing, downhill skiing, snow-machining, boating, camping, and taking his grandchildren ice skating.