Bill Walker is an attorney and businessman who served as the 11th governor of Alaska from 2014 to 2018. He was only the second governor born in Alaska and the only independent governor in the nation during his term. Walker assembled a cabinet of Alaskan leaders based on qualifications, not political affiliation. Walker is currently a senior attorney at Brena, Bell & Walker and a Spring 2020 Resident Fellow at Harvard’s Institute of Politics.
Harvard Political Review: What was the toughest part about your role as governor?
Bill Walker: I think the toughest part was having to make some very difficult decisions financially. We found ourselves in over a $4.4 billion deficit and going through borrowed money out of savings accounts at a rate of $500,000 an hour. I was in the difficult situation of having to try to work towards balancing the budget while not hurting Alaska’s economy. I was also looking at the long range future of Alaska, not just my particular election cycle.
HPR: During your term as governor, you brought in people according to their credentials, not their political party. What prompted you to make this decision, and why do you think other governors did not do this?
Well, every other part of our society works that way. You don’t select a board of directors based upon political party. You don’t select players in the NFL or the NBA based on partisanship. So, I interviewed people for positions. I never once asked what [a candidate’s] political position was, as it was irrelevant to me. And so I ended up with a very mixed cabinet. We were just a group of Alaskans, and every decision we made was in Alaska’s best interests, without any sort of political leaning one direction or the other.
HPR: You were a Republican before you ran for governor, and then you switched to being an Independent. How did that impact your campaign when you were running? And did you feel like you were connecting with more Alaskans that way?
BW: I don’t need a party to outline what my platforms are. I already know what they are. And so I’m not a perfect fit either way, as a Republican or certainly not as a Democrat. So, it was a better fit for me to [run as an independent]. Plus, about a month before the election, the Democratic candidate for governor joined with me as my lieutenant governor, and we ran on what was called a unity ticket. I think Alaskans liked the concept of that because everybody felt represented during that administration.
HPR: What did you feel was one of the most important decisions that you made while you were governor?
BW: Well, I think the Medicaid expansion was one. I gave the legislature a chance to accept it. [Alaska] was one of the states that had not [expanded Medicaid], and the legislature would not [discuss] it [in] numerous special sessions — they would just vote on it. And so I accepted that unilaterally. They sued me, which I expected they would, [and] I prevailed in the litigation. I think 44,000 Alaskans received health care as a result of what I did. Secondly, in Alaska, we have our Alaska First Peoples, who have really not been recognized properly. I put together a tribal Advisory Council and [assembled] 19 different tribal representatives. I issued a formal apology to the indigenous people about many of the wrongdoings that had taken place for generations and generations, and I was pleased that I was able to reach out as governor and do what some would have seen as politically uncomfortable. I I found it extremely comfortable to do the right thing. My lieutenant governor, Byron Mallott, was the first Alaska native lieutenant governor. He was a wonderful individual, even though he ultimately made the right decision, I believe, to resign. And during his tenure, he was the highest serving American Indian in the nation as lieutenant governor of Alaska. It was such an incredible honor to serve with him.
HPR: How do you feel that the current governor of Alaska is handling COVID-19?
BW: I’ve been careful since I’ve been out of office not to engage in criticism of my successor. As I’ve always said, Alaska has one governor at a time, and I don’t think it helps to have outgoing governors critiquing what is going on. [The current governor] has got his hands full with what he’s doing. I pray every day; I pray for our leaders. [Alaskans] pray for Governor Dunleavy here as well, for his leadership and wisdom in the difficult decisions he is faced with on a daily basis. All governors [are] in a tough spot, and I got to know many of them through the National Governors Association and the Western Governors Association. So, I would be hard pressed to criticize [governors] on what they’re doing or not doing. They’re in the cockpit; they have all the controls, dials and data in front of them. They’re making the best decisions possible based on the information that is available to them.
HPR: What have you learned from your time as a Fellow at Harvard so far?
BW: I’ve learned so much! I was in a role [that] I had not been in before. My background is construction. I’m a journeyman carpenter, a builder. My wife and I went to law school. After we were married, we ended up running a very successful law firm in Alaska before I became governor. But teaching and being in an educational environment, other than being a student, I had not experienced before. And I loved every bit of it. I loved spending time with the liaisons. They would sit down with me while I was having coffee and bounce ideas off me about their future. I just love[d] being a sounding board for that. What I enjoyed so much about Harvard was the cross section of folks from all different parts of the world, all [of a] different cultural makeup. The diversity was very significant, and I just thought that the whole experience was potentially life-changing for me.
HPR: What’s next for you after your time at Harvard?
BW: I like to fix things. I think that’s my passion as a carpenter and as a business person, I’ve bought properties that didn’t work and made them work. And [when] I see something that’s broken, I just become obsessed with trying to fix it. [When] I ran for governor of Alaska, [it wasn’t] because I had some sort of a political itch. That was the first office I held since I was in my mid-20s. I was the mayor of my hometown of Valdez when I was about 26-27 [years old], but then resigned and [attended] law school. I ran for governor to help fix Alaska. And I will continue to look for ways [to help] Alaska and the [overall] political process, so that we end up with voters having more [options]. Our political system allows us to just select one of two [candidates], and sometimes neither one of them is who we would necessarily want to select. So, my passion is to fix the system [as best] as I can and work with those that are trying to fix the system. I don’t have a political career. I don’t even like the term political career. I don’t think politics is ever supposed to be your career; [it] is supposed to be an obligation. Much like we used to have the mandatory two years in the military, politics is a duty or obligation in which you serve for a term or two, and then return to your previous line of work. The problem is that there’s so much focus on reelection, that [politicians] barely have time to do the job. And that’s no way to do business.
Image Credit: Harvard Institute of Politics