Hundreds expected at Walker-Mallott inauguration Monday

Bill Walker and his running mate Byron Mallott came to KTOO for a roundtable discussion. (Photo courtesy 360 North)
Gubernatorial candidate Bill Walker and lieutenant governor candidate Byron Mallott appeared on a Sept. 12 recording of Forum@360.

Gov.-elect Bill Walker and Lt. Gov.-elect Byron Mallott will be sworn into office on Monday at Juneau’s Centennial Hall.

The public inauguration ceremony begins at 11:30 a.m. and is expected to last about an hour.

Lindsay Hobson, Walker’s daughter and a campaign spokeswoman involved in the transition, says they’ve reserved about 260 seats for invited guests alone.

“Between the band, the performers, the people on stage and their families, you know, the governor and the lieutenant governor-elect’s family and friends that are traveling,” Hobson says.

There will be seating available in the main ballroom for nearly a thousand people. Overflow seating and viewing for hundreds more will be available in the Centennial Hall lobby and at the Juneau Arts & Culture Center.

Alaska Airlines is adding an extra Anchorage-to-Juneau flight on Monday morning to accommodate inauguration traffic, the campaign said in a Thanksgiving press release.

“This is the first time in state history where we have had both an Alaskan-born governor and lieutenant governor serving together,” Hobson says. “You know, I think there’s going to be a lot of energy, a lot of excitement. And also, it is our first nonpartisan administration in Alaska history. And the only nonpartisan governor in the United States right now. So it will be certainly one to remember.”

Free shuttle buses will run to Centennial Hall from the Nugget Mall parking lot at 10:30 and 10:45 a.m., from Marine Park at 11:10, and a cruise ship terminal at 11:15 a.m.

Live Gavel Alaska coverage of the ceremony begins at 11:30 a.m. on 360 North, 360north.org, and KTOO. KTOO’s Casey Kelly and former APRN capitol correspondent Dave Donaldson will host the coverage.

After the ceremony, Hobson says Walker and Mallott will head to the third floor of the Capitol building to physically assume their offices. Walker plans to stay in the Governor’s Mansion Monday night.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story quoted Lindsay Hobson saying “close to 500” seats had been reserved for invited guests. Hobson now says the number is about 260.

Jeremy Hsieh

Local News Reporter, KTOO

I dig into questions about the forces and institutions that shape Juneau, big and small, delightful and outrageous. What stirs you up about how Juneau is built and how the city works?

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