BIll walker “We oppose a Constitutional Convention”
Bill Walker is running for office along with Heidi Dygras. Supporting the state’s children and families; addressing the housing crisis; and achieving long-term policy measures and agreements are his main goals.
What do you think you can offer to improve the Alaskan standard of living that the other candidates are not considering? When we talk about rebuilding Alaska, at the core, we are talking about policies that make it so people can build successful lives here and focus attention beyond our immediate challenges. Our economic development plan provides several policies that we will pursue toward this end, including proposals to solve these three issues: To support kids and families in Alaska from pre-K through UA, we will: increase teacher funding; create and endow an Alaska Education Fund with revenue from additional resource development to provide the stable funding needed for people of all backgrounds to access education from pre-K through UA; invest in childcare through increased grants and incentives in communities across our state so people can afford to re-enter the workforce and provide for their families; forgive debt incurred by anyone who completes a trade school certificate or a college degree and stays and works in Alaska for at least five years.
To address Alaska’s statewide housing crisis, we will use every tool at the state’s disposal to encourage the construction of new affordable homes in rural and urban communities, beginning with a significant investment in our first budget proposal; eliminate bureaucratic hurdles to allow for new types of housing development across our state; consider creating a Statewide Land Trust to drastically reduce the price of homes in strategic areas. To bring Alaskans together and shift our attention to the future, we will: create an initiative we are calling Alaska 2050. This effort will be modeled after a similar project carried out by Hawaii in 1970 called “Hawaii 2000” which brought together thousands of people across the State of all ages, cultures, professions, educational achievements, income levels, and in all communities at a historic inflection point in that state to establish a greater sense of unity about what people wanted to become by the turn of the century.
We desperately need this approach in Alaska: neighbors sitting down and having tough conversations to build a foundation of mutual respect and understanding so we can chart a course into the future that is not reversed every four years but reaches far into the future and gets us thinking about what we are leaving for our children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and everyone who will love this place long after we are gone.
Where do the BIPOC communities fit in your priorities? We are running to represent every Alaskan, and we strongly believe that every community deserves a seat at the table when decisions are made. At the Cabinet level and in other senior state positions, we will assemble a team that is as diverse as our state. Leaders will be empowered to make decisions and contribute important perspectives anchored in their background and values to every policy area the state touches. Are you in favor or against an Alaskan Constitutional Convention? And if you are in favor, give your reasons. We oppose a Constitutional Convention.
