Republican gubernatorial candidate Bernadette Wilson (pictured here) will host a meet and greet in Ketchikan on Saturday. She’ll be in Sitka on Sunday (7-13-25) and available to the public at Harrigan Centennial Hall from 3-5 p.m. On Monday, she’ll head to Juneau for a luncheon with the Capital City Republicans organization (APM/Stone)
A conservative activist vying to be Alaska’s next governor is touring Southeast this weekend. Bernadette Wilson is an Anchorage business owner, former talk radio host and the great-niece of late Alaska Governor Wally Hickel. She spoke with KCAW about her platform ahead of her visit to Sitka. Wilson hasn’t served in elected office but she has political experience, most recently sponsoring a new campaign to repeal ranked choice voting in Alaska.
She’s a mother of three, and a discussion with her 18-year-old son about opportunities working in other states led her to consider running for office.
“I don’t want my kids to move. I think that Alaska is the future of the country, with our rich resources, our strategic location on the map,” Wilson said. “But as I look at things that have been going on with our Permanent Fund Dividend, education, our fisheries, it’s clear that it’s time that we get someone in there, in this governor’s seat, that wants to step up and fight for Alaska.”
Wilson said the state of education in Alaska is “dismal.” When asked if she would support future increases to the state’s education funding formula, she said there’s a number she’d support but not necessarily the numbers being discussed.
“The number that I want to know from the the education bureaucrats, the number that I want is I want someone to tell me a number and then tell me ‘Bernadette, this is what it’s going to take to make us number one,'” she said. “That’s the number that I want to know, and that’s the number that I want to support.”
She’s critical of the state’s approach to the PFD– lawmakers haven’t followed the funding formula since oil prices crashed around a decade ago. Wilson said that needs to change.
“We are the owner state. This is not a welfare program. Alaska residents, whether you are down in Southeast or you’re up north in Fairbanks, it doesn’t matter. We own the resources of this state,” Wilson said. “And I am tired of watching legislators go back to Alaskans and say, ‘Well, we can’t follow a state statute.’ They are breaking the law.”
Like the PFD, Wilson says the ferry system is important for all Alaskans, not just Southeast, and needs to be sustained.
“If we can’t do it on a federal level, how do we do it on a state level? Are there more ways to make it efficient, more efficient? That is a critical component that we cannot just simply disregard. We need to sit down and have a thorough conversation,” Wilson said.
When asked what she would do to protect and support Alaska’s fisheries, she said the state has to get a handle on trawling.
“In what world is it still okay to have them raking across the bottom of the ocean floor? We’ve got to have a serious conversation about trawling,” Wilson said. “This is not about the lobbyists coming out of Seattle. This is about sustainability for Alaska fisheries, and we need to start with that incredibly difficult and complex topic.”
Wilson entered the race for the governor’s seat in May along with several other Republican candidates, including former state Senator Click Bishop and Lt. Governor Nancy Dahlstrom. So far, no Democrats have thrown a hat in the ring. Governor Mike Dunleavy’s term ends at the end of next year.
Wilson will host a meet and greet in Ketchikan on Saturday. She’ll be in Sitka on Sunday and available to the public at Harrigan Centennial Hall from 3-5 p.m. On Monday, she’ll head to Juneau for a luncheon with the Capital City Republicans organization.
