William Martin Walker (born April 16, 1951) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 11th governor of Alaska, from 2014 to 2018. He is the second Alaska-born governor, after William A. Egan.
Walker was born in Fairbanks to Frances (Park) and businessman Ed Walker; he was raised in Delta Junction and Valdez, Alaska. He obtained a J.D. degree from Seattle University and served as mayor, city councilor, and city attorney for Valdez, and as general counsel for the Alaska Gasline Port Authority. Walker ran for governor of Alaska in the Republican Party primary election in 2010, losing to incumbent Sean Parnell.
Walker ran as an independent in the 2014 election, merging his campaign with that of Democratic nominee Byron Mallott, who became Walker's running mate. Both candidates' prior respective running mates withdrew from the race and the Walker/Mallott ticket defeated Parnell and his running mate, former Anchorage mayor Dan Sullivan. Walker ran for reelection in 2018, but facing low polling numbers and Lieutenant Governor Mallott's resignation, he dropped out of the race on October 19, 2018, and endorsed Democrat Mark Begich. Walker ran in the 2022 election as an independent, but lost to Republican incumbent Mike Dunleavy.
Early life and education
Walker was born in Fairbanks, Alaska, and raised in the small, rural interior city of Delta Junction and the port of Valdez on Prince William Sound. He was the fourth child of Alaskan pioneers Frances (Park) and Ed Walker. During World War II, Ed was an Alaskan Scout with Castner's Cutthroats in the Aleutian Islands and Frances worked on the Alaska-Canadian Highway. During the 1964 Alaska earthquake, which severely damaged Valdez, the family lost most of their personal and business possessions. At the age of 12, Walker became a janitor to help his family.
Walker graduated from Valdez High School in 1969. He 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 (now Seattle University School of Law) in 1983. Walker worked in his family's construction business as a carpenter, laborer, and teamster on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, which helped him pay for his education.
Career
From 1977 to 1979, Walker served on the Valdez city council. He later was elected mayor of Valdez, serving from 1979 through 1980. At 27, he was Valdez's youngest mayor.
Walker and his wife, Donna, owned a law firm; he became a prominent oil and gas attorney. The firm represented the city of Valdez and the Alaska Gasline Port Authority. Walker "represented the city of Valdez in lawsuits that charged [oil] companies with lowballing the property tax valuation of the industry-owned Trans-Alaska pipeline system". He also attempted to build a gas pipeline in Alaska.
Governor of Alaska (2014–2018)
Elections
2010
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 second, with 33.95% of the vote, while Parnell won the nomination with 49.49%. The general election was held on November 2, 2010 and Parnell defeated his Democratic opponent, Ethan Berkowitz.
2014
In 2013, Walker announced his intention to run in the 2014 gubernatorial election as a Republican. Later that year, he decided to run as a nonpartisan candidate instead, taking the advice and encouragement he had received prior to his 2010 campaign from former Alaska governor Wally Hickel.
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 opposed 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 supported increasing oil and gas pipeline capacities and new drilling for petroleum in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. He also supported gun rights, a degree of state sovereignty for Alaska, and the Medicaid expansion made possible by the Affordable Care Act.