Walker's speech, delivered at the start of his third year in office, came after two years of discord and gridlock in Juneau, with state savings dwindling as lawmakers largely dismissed his deficit-reduction plans and failed to make much of a dent in the deficit.
With 15 new legislators in Juneau, Walker, a Republican-turned-independent, pitched a stripped-down version of his budget package from last year and left room for adaptation — all while ratcheting up his rhetoric.
In last year's speech, Walker referred to Alaska's "cash flow problem." Now, he says the state is in a full-blown "crisis" — a word he'd previously avoided, but used seven times Wednesday night.
