CHS teacher wants state’s No. 2 job

PALMER — It’s probably fair to say that Bob Williams didn’t arrive in politics after the usual fashion.

“When I was the Alaska 2009 Teacher of the Year, the Teacher of the Year experience was somewhat of a transformative experience where you met with the top 49 teachers from around the nation and you met the president,” the Colony High School math teacher said.

Part of that experience included a scholarship, which he’s used to embark on a doctoral program in public policy. And from there it wasn’t a huge leap to enter the political arena. On June 4, Williams took his first big step in that direction, filing a letter of intent to run for lieutenant governor in the 2014 election.

Williams said he thinks much from his classroom experience would translate well to politics.

“On a regular basis I develop positive relationships with students and families and in the community,” he said. “I also, as a teacher every day, lead meaningful discussions with small and large groups in a civil and productive manner.”

Williams earned his master’s in mathematical education from Columbia University in New York, after which he taught in New York City public schools in Harlem, Brownsville and the Bronx. After that, he returned to Alaska, where he taught three years in Nome and then three at Houston High School, seven at Palmer High School and finally Colony. He also spent two years traveling the state mentoring new teachers. All told, he’s worked for 19 years as a teacher.

As for the office of lieutenant governor, the duties in Alaska are pretty circumscribed. The officeholder is expected to oversee and commission notaries public, guard the state seal, run the state Division of Elections and step in for the governor if the governor quits or dies. He also chairs the Alaska Historical Commission, the Aerospace States Association and State Committee on Research.

Day to day, it’s the Division of Elections portion of the job that is probably the most demanding.

“We want to make sure that that division’s elections … meets our values, Alaskan values of fairness and integrity,” Williams said.

But a lieutenant governor can do other things. Most have used the office as a kind of bully pulpit, weighing in on issues and advocating view points.

“One of the issues out there is the oil tax change that went through and I signed the repeal for SB21 and I don’t believe it meets Alaskan standards for fairness to the middle class,” Williams said.

In his press release announcing his run, he also mentions the middle class. “Committed to supporting a strong middle class and a vibrant and well-supported public education system, Williams wants to bring to the office a relentless focus on integrity, quality and effectiveness that aligns with our Alaskan values of fairness, equality and transparency.”

Williams compared what he wants to do as lieutenant governor to what he’s already done as a teacher.

“My goal was to learn how to be a very effective teacher and always work at improving and be the best teacher I can become,” he said before comparing that to his political aspirations. “The goal isn’t just to get elected. The goal is to become elected and become a very highly effective lieutenant governor.”

Contact Andrew Wellner at 352-2270 or andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com.