PALMER - Gov. Bill Walker took his spot near the front of the Alaska State Fair parade in Palmer Saturday morning by hopping in an eye-catching mint green antique vehicle before it crawled past the crowds of smiling children and families that lined South Alaska Street. That might not be the coolest ride Gov. Walker jumps in this week. On Friday night, Walker's office announced he'll accompany President Barak Obama in Air Force One as it travels from Washington, D.C., to Alaska on Monday.
Whether on that flight or in the days to follow, Walker said he's confident he'll get a chance to talk to the president one-on-one. In an interview Saturday, we asked Gov. Walker what was high on his list of things to discuss and for his thoughts on Obama's visit, which is expected to include stops in Anchorage, Seward, Dillingham and Kotzebue.
The president, in his weekly address, talked about balancing environmental protection with the continued need for resource development. Do you feel like you have anything to convince the president of about how to do that?
I do, and I think he's actually already shown that in what he's done on the offshore Shell exploratory drilling permits that were received. He's referred to it as a bridge fuel. I certainly join him on that. The oil is a bridge fuel, and we have plenty of it up north. We have a pipeline that's two-thirds empty. We need to put more oil in it. So, I think we, actually, will be aligned on that.
Whatever face-time you get with the president, how will you spend it?
Well, I certainly will be spending it by, first, thanking him for coming to Alaska as a destination point. A lot of times we have their stops on the way to Asia for refueling, those kinds of things. So I'll thank him for that. I'll also talk to him about our financial situation we're in in Alaska, with the price of oil being down, the throughput being down, some things we need for that. I'll talk to him about the military base drawdown in Alaska, and the impact that would have, and the concern we have, based on the buildup of military force in Russia in the Arctic.
I'll certainly talk to him about the gas line, the LNG project, AKLNG, which he's been very supportive of, and I appreciate that. I'll also talk about some of our energy cost issues, high energy cost in Alaska, and rural Alaska in particular. Some of the concerns we have with the impact of high energy cost on Alaskans being able to afford to live where they live. So, that's a handful. We'll have plenty to talk about. There's no question about that.
Will you talk about village relocation to any extent with him?
We will. I was in Kivalina last week. I was there for a couple of reasons, but one of them is to be able to talk firsthand about Kivalina with the president. I know that (Interior Secretary Sally) Jewell was there last February, I believe. So having been just there last week, listening to what the concerns are, the relocation efforts, we'll certainly talk to him about that.
Do you have any concern that there's a major announcement that will catch everybody by surprise? I think there's been some speculation that there's going to be a monument designation or some grand news like that. Do you share that concern?
I don't. I did share that concern until I received continued assurances that there would be no surprises. I'm in frequent contact with the White House -- couple calls yesterday – and I don't think we're going to see any surprises.
Do you know to what extent you'll be with the president when he travels the state, or is that to be determined?
That's yet to be determined. I think it depends upon how much time I'm able to get with him. I mean it's important to me and to the president that he and I have some one-on-one time, or time with myself and Lt. Gov. Mallott. So, we'll just see how that plays out. I don't want to interfere with what he has planned up here, but on the other hand this is a great opportunity to showcase our state.
Are you looking forward to it personally?
Very much.
It's going to be a busy couple days.
It'll be a very busy couple days. I'm honored to be governor of Alaska at the time a sitting president comes to Alaska. You bet.
Listen to the interview: