Anchorage Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Forum Podcasts

Why Alaskans Should Elect Me Governor

May 08, 2022 Former Alaska Governor and Candidate Bill Walker Season 2022 Episode 508
Anchorage Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Forum Podcasts
Why Alaskans Should Elect Me Governor
Show Notes

Bill Walker is a lifelong Alaskan who served as the 11th governor of our state, from 2014 to 2018. He is only the second governor born in Alaska, and during his term, he was the only Independent governor in the nation. Bill was born in Fairbanks and grew up in Delta Junction and Valdez, where he built homes with his dad and brother while still in elementary school. The Walkers lost everything they owned during the 1964 earthquake, but with all six of them working they avoid filing bankruptcy and scraped together a living. Bill financed his education by working as a union carpenter, laborer, and teamster on the Trans-Alaska oil pipeline. At age 27, he was mayor of Valdez, and he later served as the city’s attorney after he and his wife, Donna, graduated from the University of Puget Sound Law School. In 2020, Bill was selected as a Resident Fellow for the Harvard John F. Kennedy School Institute of Politics, where he led a course titled Bridging the Political Divide. Bill and his wife, Donna, have four children and six grandchildren.