By Melissa DeVaughn
Alaska Star

Bill Walker is convinced that what the state needs is a full-scale gasline that runs from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez. A bullet line is a stopgap and a line to Canada would be giving away our resources, he says.

If Walker’s elected governor, building that gasline is the one thing he vows to get done, so “that we will be laying pipe in three years.” No more studies, he said, no more committees, no more passing the issue on from one administration to the other.

“One common denominator (among administrations) is that we’re waiting for someone else to do it,” Walker said March 31 at a Chugiak-Eagle River Chamber of Commerce-sponsored “Pancakes and Politics” event at Johann’s Restaurant. “Until the State of Alaska is willing to step up, we’re going to argue about fiscal responsibilities and get nowhere.

“The government’s role is to be involved in infrastructure,” he continued. “When did we stop being Alaskans? It’s time for us to stand up and take some risk and start this.”

Walker, a lifelong Alaskan who was born in Fairbanks and grew up mostly in Valdez, said the gasline issue is the most compelling reason that spurred him to run for governor.

Also vying for the GOP ticket in the August primary are Gov. Sean Parnell and Ralph Samuels. Democrats Ethan Berkowitz, Bob Poe and Hollis French are seeking their party’s support.

As an attorney who has spent nearly 30 years focusing his practice on oil and gas issues, Walker said he brings to the table the in-depth knowledge necessary to make an all-Alaska gasline a reality. For too long, he told a crowd of about 20 people at the event, the state has dragged its heels.

“We need to turn the ship of the state away from bureaucracy,” he said. “In the past, we couldn’t afford to study it, so we built it. Now we study it and can’t afford to build it.”

At least a quarter of those in attendance at the breakfast were associated with the Chamber. Others included community business owners, a local Assembly member and concerned citizens. They quizzed Walker on how he would combat government bureaucracy, grow jobs, improve education and manage natural resources.

He said he is an advocate of improving vocational educational opportunities for students, growing jobs by becoming more independent and making our own products in-state rather than seeking them outside.

He said he would look at reorganizing the Department of Natural Resources, work for in-state hire on gasline jobs, improve tourism with better marketing and manage fisheries based on what’s best for the resource, not for politics.

Walker said he is not – as has been suggested – a one-issue governor obsessed only with bringing an all-Alaska gasline to fruition.

“I’m running for governor because I’m very worried about our state,” he said.

This article published in The Alaska Star on Thursday, April 8, 2010.