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Bill Walker recall, Alaska (2016)
| Alaska Governor recall |
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| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2016 Recalls in Alaska Alaska recall laws State legislative recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Alaska Governor Bill Walker (Ind.), elected in 2014, was discussed in 2016.
Walker's line-item veto on 2016 budget
On June 29, 2016, Walker made several line-item vetoes to the 2016 Operating and Capital Budget that significantly slashed government spending—including the annual disbursement of Permanent Fund dividends to Alaska residents in 2016. The Permanent Fund was established in 1976 by a constitutional amendment. At least 25 percent of state oil and minerals revenue are put into the Fund, and dividends are disbursed annually to Alaskans. Historical dividend amounts between 1982 and 2015 ranged from about $300 to over $3,000.[1]
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The Alaska State Legislature originally included $1.4 billion in allotments for Permanent Fund payouts in 2016. Walker's fund transfers veto cut the allotment to $695 million, or $1,000 per person—less than half of 2015's dividend payout. The governor asserted that the state had lost 80 percent of its revenue of the previous year and a half and was facing a $4 billion budget shortfall. "If we don't make a change on the dividend program, here's what happens. It goes away in under four years," he said.[2][3]
Lawsuit filed against the State alleging veto was unconstitutional
On September 16, 2016, Democratic state Sen. Bill Wielechowski and two former Republican state senators, Clem Tillion and Rick Halford, filed a lawsuit against the Permanent Fund Corporation alleging that Walker's veto was illegal under the constitutional amendment that established the fund. The plaintiffs claimed that only the state legislature had the authority to adjust dividend payouts.[4] The complaint was filed in the Third District Court of Alaska and assigned to Judge Herman Walker Jr.[5]
"Hundreds of hours of research leads me to conclude that the Governor does not have the authority to cut Dividends in the way he proposes," said Wielechowski in a public statement. "The Governor cannot veto existing law."[6]
"I’m disappointed that an incumbent legislator who failed to work towards a solution to our fiscal crisis—a solution that would protect the long-term viability of the PFD—has decided instead to pursue this lawsuit eight weeks prior to his re-election bid," Governor Walker responded to the lawsuit.[6]
Recall effort
Attorney and 2016 Libertarian candidate for U.S. Senate Joe Miller called for Governor Walker to be recalled from office in a July 4 post on his campaign website. "Walker’s idiocy with the PFD, his lies about what he’d do as governor, and slavish devotion to big government on the People’s dime, fall squarely within the recall parameters," said Miller in the post.[7] Miller created a Facebook page for the recall effort and began holding a series of signature-collection events.
Alaska state recall laws require an application be submitted to the Division of Elections with a number of physical signatures equal to 10 percent of the number of people who voted in the preceding general election—in 2016, equal to 28,585 signatures. Applicants must also include a statement of no more than 200 words providing the grounds for recall, which include "misconduct in office, incompetence, or failure to perform prescribed duties" (§ 9 ch 74 SLA 1985). If the application is approved, a petition is issued by the Division of Elections. In order to trigger a recall election, petitioners must then gather a number of signatures equal to 25 percent of the number of people who voted in the preceding general election. "They [recalls] are not very successful. Often they are denied because you do have some pretty strict requirements," said Division of Elections petition manager Carol Thompson.[8]
"I respect these Alaskans’ right to voice their objections over my budget vetoes. However that does not sway my decision on how to address the state’s fiscal challenges," Governor Walker responded to the recall effort.[8] No recall petition was ever formally issued.
State profile
| Demographic data for Alaska | ||
|---|---|---|
| Alaska | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 737,709 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 570,641 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 66% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 3.4% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 5.9% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 13.8% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 1.2% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 8.4% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 6.5% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 92.1% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 28% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $72,515 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 11.3% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Alaska. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
- See also: Presidential voting trends in Alaska
Alaska voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
More Alaska coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in Alaska
- United States congressional delegations from Alaska
- Public policy in Alaska
- Endorsers in Alaska
- Alaska fact checks
- More...
External links
Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation, "Annual Dividend Payouts," accessed September 29, 2016
- ↑ Alaska Dispatch News, "‘Day of reckoning’: Gov. Walker vetoes hundreds of millions in spending, caps Permanent Fund dividend at $1,000," June 29, 2016
- ↑ Office of Management and Budget, "Operating and Capital Budget Vetoed Items," June 30, 2016
- ↑ Tanana Valley Television Company, "State Sued By Alaska Politicians Over Legality Of Governor's PFD Slashing," September 20, 2016
- ↑ CourtView Justice Solutions, "3AN-16-08940CI," accessed September 30, 2016
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 KTUU, "Sen. Wielechowski files lawsuit challenging governor's PFD cuts," September 16, 2016
- ↑ Restoring Liberty, "@SaveThePFD - Recall Walker," July 4, 2016
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 KTVA Alaska, "Governor may face lawsuit, recall effort over his PFD veto," July 6, 2016
