Bill Wielechowski
{{Short description|American politician (born 1967)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Bill Wielechowski
| image = File:Bill Wielechowski.jpg
| image_size = 220px
| caption = Wielechowski in 2009
| office = Member of the Alaska Senate
| term_start = January 16, 2007
| term_end =
| predecessor = Gretchen Guess
| successor =
| constituency = District J (2007–2013)
District G (2013–2015)
District H (2015–2023)
District K (2023–present)
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1967|12|7}}
| birth_place = Ridgewood, New Jersey, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| party = Democratic
| otherparty =
| spouse = Laura
| partner =
| relations =
| children = 1
| residence = Anchorage, Alaska, U.S.
| alma_mater = Seton Hall University (BS, JD)
| occupation =
| profession = Attorney
| committees =
| religion =
| signature =
| signature_alt =
| website =
| footnotes =
}}
Bill P. Wielechowski (born December 7, 1967) is an American lawyer serving as a Democratic member of the Alaska Senate representing District K, which is located in Northeast Anchorage, Alaska.{{Cite web |title=Alaska Districts & Legislative Information Office Locations |url=https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1m7xS712hRugLijMU0jC9q5n-jCgsp1c&hl=en |access-date=2023-03-07 |website=Google My Maps}} Prior to the 2022 redistricting process, he represented District H from 2015 to 2023. Wielechowski also previously represented District J from 2007 to 2013.{{Cite web |title=Alaska State Legislature |url=https://www.akleg.gov/basis/Member/Detail/33?code=wie#tab7_1 |access-date=2023-03-07 |website=www.akleg.gov}}
Early life
Wielechowski was born December 7, 1967, in Ridgewood, New Jersey, to a Polish-American family (his grandfather immigrated from Kraków in 1910). He attended Seton Hall University earning a Bachelor of Science in business management and finance and graduating magna cum laude. He then attended Seton Hall University School of Law earning his juris doctor in 1992.{{cite web|url=http://akleg.gov/legislator.php?id=wie |title=Alaska State Legislature |publisher=Akleg.gov |date=1967-12-07 |accessdate=2017-02-27}}
After moving to Anchorage, he became a volunteer with the Northeast Community Council, as a Commissioner on the Anchorage Planning & Zoning Commission and as chair of the Creekside Town Center. In 1999 he was the designated chair of the Alaska Workers' Compensation Board.
In 2003, he served on the mayoral transition team for Mark Begich and went on to serve the city as a member of the 2003 Anchorage School District Budget Review Team and the Mayor's Task Force on Obesity and Health. In 2004, he stepped down as designated chair of the Alaska Workers' Compensation Board to become associate general counsel for IBEW Local 1547.{{cite web|url=http://votesmart.org/candidate/biography/68283/bill-wielechowski#.VjWuzLerSM8 |title=Bill Wielechowski's Biography - The Voter's Self Defense System |publisher=Vote Smart |date= |accessdate=2017-02-27}}
Alaska Senate
In 2006, he was elected to the Alaska Senate to replace retiring Democratic incumbent Gretchen Guess in District J, which included the neighborhoods of Mt. View, Muldoon and Russian Jack in Anchorage. In the 2010 election, he defeated Ron Slepecki winning 58% of the vote to Slepecki's 42%.{{cite web|url=https://www.elections.alaska.gov/results/10GENR/data/resultsOF.pdf|title=State of Alaska 2010 General Election - November 2, 2010 - Official Results without US Senate Race|publisher=State of Alaska Division of Elections|date=2010-11-02|access-date=2015-11-01}}
He was a majority member of the Senate bi-partisan Working Group from 2007 through 2012. He then joined the Minority Caucus.
In 2013–2014, Senator Wielechowski led an effort to repeal legislation, passed by the legislature in 2013, granting additional tax credits to oil and gas companies.{{cite web|title = Compass: Repeal SB 21 and start real partnership with oil industry|url = http://www.adn.com/article/20131122/compass-repeal-sb-21-and-start-real-partnership-oil-industry|website = Alaska Dispatch News|accessdate = 2015-12-16}} The effort to repeal the legislation was rejected by Alaska voters in 2014.{{cite web|title = 'No' votes hold narrow lead in Ballot Measure 1|url = http://www.adn.com/article/20140819/no-votes-hold-narrow-lead-ballot-measure-1|website = Alaska Dispatch News|accessdate = 2015-12-16}}
= Alaska Permanent Fund =
In 2016, Senator Wielechowski, alongside former senators Rick Halford and Clem Tillion, filed a lawsuit against the State of Alaska, challenging Governor Bill Walker's veto that reduced the Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) payments. The plaintiffs argued that the governor's veto violated existing statutes governing the PFD, which mandated automatic transfers from the Permanent Fund's earnings reserve to the dividend fund without requiring legislative appropriation. The Alaska Supreme Court upheld the veto, ruling that the transfer of funds for dividend payments required legislative appropriation and was subject to the governor's veto power.
This lawsuit effectively placed the PFD in direct competition with other state budgetary items, as its funding became contingent upon annual legislative appropriations rather than automatic transfers.{{Cite web |title=BILL WIELECHOWSKI RICK HALFORD CLEM TILLION v. STATE OF ALASKA ALASKA PERMANENT FUND CORPORATION (2017) |url=https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/ak-supreme-court/1872118.html |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=Findlaw |language=en-US}}
In response to the lawsuit, Governor Bill Walker expressed disappointment 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.{{Cite web |last=KTUU |first=Cameron Mackintosh / |date=2016-09-16 |title=Sen. Wielechowski files lawsuit challenging governor's PFD cuts |url=https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/content/news/Wielechowski-files-lawsuit-challenging-PFD-cuts-393718301.html |access-date=2025-06-18 |website=https://www.alaskasnewssource.com |language=en}}
=Committee assignments=
In the 2015-2016 legislative session, Wielechowski served as a member of the following standing committees; Judiciary, Resources and State Affairs. He also served on the Special Committee on Federal Overreach, the Joint Committee on Armed Services {{cite web|url=http://www.akleg.gov/basis/Committee/Details/29?code=SFOV |title=Alaska State Legislature |publisher=Akleg.gov |date=2016-12-31 |accessdate=2017-02-27}}{{cite web|url=http://www.akleg.gov/basis/Committee/Details/29?code=HASC |title=Alaska State Legislature |publisher=Akleg.gov |date=2015-02-17 |accessdate=2017-02-27}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Portal|Alaska|Biography|Politics}}
{{Commons category-inline}}
- [http://senate.legis.state.ak.us/wie.php Alaska State Legislature - Senator Bill Wielechowski] official government website
- [http://votesmart.org/bio.php?can_id=68283 Project Vote Smart - Senator Bill P. Wielechowski (AK)] profile
- Follow the Money - Bill Wielechowski
- [http://www.followthemoney.org/database/StateGlance/candidate.phtml?c=89814 2006] campaign contributions
- [http://100years.akleg.gov/bio.php?id=876 Bill Wielechowski] at 100 Years of Alaska's Legislature
- {{C-SPAN|114916}}
{{Alaska State Senators}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wielechowski, Bill}}
Category:Democratic Party Alaska state senators
Category:21st-century members of the Alaska Legislature
Category:American politicians of Polish descent
Category:Politicians from Anchorage, Alaska
Category:People from Ridgewood, New Jersey
Category:Seton Hall University School of Law alumni