Gubernatorial Candidates - Former Governor Bill Walker & Former State Senator Shelley Hughes

Bill Walker served as the 11th governor of Alaska from 2014 to 2018. He was born in Fairbanks and raised in Delta Junction and Valdez. Bill grew up building homes with his dad and financed his education by working as a carpenter, laborer, and teamster on the Alaska oil pipeline. At age 27, he became the youngest person to serve as mayor of Valdez, and later served as city attorney there. He earned his bachelor's in business administration from Lewis and Clark College and a J.D. from the University of Puget Sound in 1983. He worked on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline and co-founded a law firm with his wife, Donna, specializing in municipal, oil, and gas law. In 2020, he was a fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School's Institute of Politics. He and Donna have four children and six grandchildren. As governor, he worked with both Presidents Obama and Trump, expanded Medicaid coverage, established a Tribal Advisory Council, and advocated for responsible resource development and a gas line.

Shelley Hughes served over a dozen years in the Alaska Legislature, representing Palmer and the southern part of the MatSu Borough. She served in the House from 2012 through 2016 and then in the State Senate, including two years as Majority Leader, until resigning in 2025 to focus on her gubernatorial campaign. Shelley had been married to her husband, Roger, for 48 years when he died in May of this year. During the1970s and 1980s, they lived in Hoonah, Bethel, Fort Yukon, Fairbanks, and Seward. After raising their four children, she began her second career with a move to Palmer in 1990. She completed her bachelor's degree at the University of Alaska, worked briefly as a legislative aide, and then served as a policy affairs director in the private sector. Among the issues she's focused on in the Legislature were unmanned aircraft, toughening sexual assault laws, bipartisan fiscal plan proposals, safeguarding seniors against fraud and abuse, and the Alaska Reads Act. She also led the repeal of the crime reform act, SB 91. She has 12 grandchildren.

In this election year, the Forum is providing an opportunity for numerous candidates for various statewide offices and advocates for ballot propositions to speak with us. This is a continuation of our year-round mission to help attendees become better informed about the people and issues that will affect the future of our community and our state. AUUF does not support or oppose any candidates for public office or ballot measures.