Republican Bill Walker announced plans today to run as an unaffiliated candidate for governor next year.
If he gathers the required signatures to qualify, Walker would avoid a primary with Governor Sean Parnell and get his name on the November general election ballot.
Walker, in a statement, said it seems to him that if you don’t support the oil tax cut recently passed by the Legislature, and championed by Parnell, then you’re not considered a “good Republican.”
He said that while he’ll remain a “traditional” Alaska Republican, it’s time to put party politics aside and “aggressively pursue what is in the best interests of Alaskans.”
Walker is a former mayor of Valdez known for his support of an all-Alaska natural gas pipeline.
