Robert “Bert” Williams is running to represent Senate District R with the Alaskan Independence Party.
Williams grew up in Fairbanks and attended West Valley High School. He earned a bachelor’s in biology and a master’s in biological sciences from the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
“I like living things. There’s really nothing more magical than nature,” he said.
After graduating, he worked in health care for a few years. He is now an apprentice machinist at Howee’s Machine Shop in Fox.
He has served as the secretary of the Alaskan Independence Party since April 2024.
Williams ran for for Senate District R in 2022 and said he was asked to run again this year.
“I really don’t want to be a politician. I don’t like politics,” he said.
Williams believes that the best politician is someone who only wants to represent the people that elected them.
He said he understand the challenges of people who are blue-collar and white-collar, and can bridge those two worlds.
He said his academic background taught him to look through data and research and make decisions on his own.
Williams is focused on improving the state’s economy by cutting spending and increasing revenue streams.
Williams is married to Theresa and they have two daughters. He spends his time with his family and starting a small homestead.
What should the state’s budget priorities be?
The state’s primary goal should be to reduce spending. This fantasy that we’ll find a nice tax to help keep this level of spending going is just that — a fantasy. The state should decide whether they care more about finding more money to spend or keeping people in the state. As taxes go up, people will leave.
Education funding was a top concern in the state last session. How would you support education at the state level?
The only real solution to the education problem is to totally dismantle and rebuild the education system, even if this means foregoing federal funds. We have ‘incrementally fixed’ our way into this problem for decades, and now the schools have no real way to deal with students that simply don’t care. But, the school system is only the minor half of the problem. The state is not capable of solving the bigger problem: neurological damage the students have suffered from exposure to social and electronic media. The government can’t fix the damaged attention spans or dopamine burnout that many students suffer, and it’s foolish to think it can.
What steps can the state take to support available housing?
If the state wants to alleviate housing problems it can sell more state-owned land for development. To prevent land accumulation by the wealthy it can come with riders of one parcel per family unit and no future sale to corporate entities. The other option for alleviating the housing problem is to simply do nothing about the population outflow from the state, and over time the problem will solve itself.
What role do national culture war topics have in the Alaska Legislature?
None.
How would you work across the aisle with other lawmakers? Would you join a bipartisan coalition?
I will work with other members of the Senate if our goals align, but I will not join a coalition. My obligation as an elected official is to vote in the interests of my district constituents.
How should the state address outmigration and make Alaska more attractive to potential residents?
The only answer to reducing outmigration is reducing the cost of living and actually combatting the state’s crime problems. As people become unable to afford living in Alaska, they leave. Much of the issue lies out of the state legislature’s hands at the borough and municipal level — property taxes are one of the main forces driving individuals out of FNSB, and the abysmal situation in Anchorage is purely a product of Anchorage’s municipal government. Housing costs might be driven down by opening up more land, at the cost of borough revenues. Electricity prices might be reduced by ending the ‘renewable’ debacle, at the risk of fiscal retaliation by the federal government. The weakening dollar sits over all these problems by continually reducing Alaskans’ purchasing power, but this is not a problem the state legislature can solve. All of this is overshadowed by a festering drug problem, and all the issues that brings.
With a shortage of available natural gas in Cook Inlet and the lack of a pipeline to the North Slope, how would you address high energy costs in the Interior?
Our state is not conducive to large-scale hydroelectric power, especially in the Interior. Renewables place more strain on the grid than they are worth, and have a terrible energy return on energy invested. Cook Inlet tidal power might provide a solution in the future, but the technology is far from being mature enough for mass deployment. The only real solution for electricity costs is 4th generation nuclear, despite the engineering hurdles posed.
Solid fuels are an entirely different issue. They’re unlikely to be replaced by electric, so logically we either have to actually use the north slope natural gas (either by way of seasonal oceanic transport, rail, or pipeline), or find newer sources closer to home (rumor has it there’s natural gas in the Tanana flats). If those two solutions don’t work out, we’ll have to import it. The state is not omnipotent.
What are your thoughts on ranked choice voting?
Ranked choice voting is perfectly reasonable. It provides an exceeding amount of power for voters to step out of the left-right uniparty nightmare. The only change that should be made is guaranteed advancement through the primaries for the major parties to prevent political games by way of primary flooding.
What would you do to foster a northern rail extension?
Until a rail line comes up from Canada the largest benefactor of the northern rail extension would be the military, bar none. If they want to install the northern rail extension they are free to find the pennies in their budget to do so, I certainly won’t get in their way.