Jack Walker

Jan Saul Folmer “Jack” Walker (Born January 22nd, 1959) is a Doggerland senator, cartographer, media mogul, former mayor of Hoovsted (1982-1990) and a member of the Liberal Party.

Biography
Jack Walker was born on January 22nd, 1959 in Alenville, Steibo and is the youngest child of judge Henry Walker and local politician and clerk Maryanne Walker (née Folmer). Jack was named after Jan Vander Zijk, the first Prime Minister of Doggerland. He attended Eisburg Secondary School before going to Vallestad University in Hoovsted. Walker married Thérèse Morain in 1989 and has two children, Janet (born 1990) and Jack Jr. (born 1992). The family moved to Leestrom in 2006 and he bought a cottage in Jura sometime between 2015 and 2018. Jack Walker retired from politics on May 14th, 2021 and currently is residing in Jura.

Political Career
While still in university he decided to run for mayor of Hoovsted against incumbent mayor Henry Davies as a member of the Liberal Party. After unexpectedly getting second place in the 1982 election, Walker won the runnoff with a mere 50.2% of the vote in the biggest upset of the year. In 1986 he easily won re-election with 51.7% of the vote as the tradtionally dominant Labor Worker's Party was split between the official candidate Mel Bradley and Davies running as an independent. By 1989, the LWP had a new leader that united the party and was extremely popular. Walker decided to not run for re-election in 1990 and the Liberal Party suffered their greatest defeat in Doggerland history winning only 29.3% of the vote. This was a sign of things to come, as about a year later the Liberal Party merged into the Reform Alliance.

After the Liberal Party’s defeat and later merger, Walker became a large critic of the Reform Alliance and refused to join. In 1991 Walker instead joined the Free Citizens’ Voter Alliance and later The Moderate Party. He was one of the first members of the new Steibo Legislature and remained in the Parliament until 2006. He then left Steibo before becoming a founding member of the recreated Liberals in 2021.

In that same year, Walker was elected to the Doggerland Legislature. After the creation of the senate, Walker moved his official residence from his house in Leestrom to his cottage in Jura to run in the 4th district senate race under the Abolish the Senate name, owing to his staunch unicameralism. In February of 2021, Walker was appointed Minister of Housing and Infrastructure on account of his actions taken to improve Hoovsted’s public transportation and housing while mayor. Because of his major defeat in the February senate elections, Walker decided to run in district 6 for the March senate elections, which he won. Walker joined the Planet Alliance in March of 2021. Walker was one of the key figures that led to the senate was abolished in late April of 2021. After rejoining the National Assembly in May of 2021, Walker unsuccessfully ran for President in the May 2021 Doggerland presidential election. On May 8th, Walker announced his retirement from politics after the upcoming presidential election.

Mayorship
When Walker assumed office, he was the yougest mayor in Doggerland history, surpassing the short-lived mayor of Toiburg, Micheal Farra. He was hailed as one of the most successful and popular mayors of a major city and during his tenure he reached a peak of 86% approval. During his tenure, Hoovsted grew rapidly and his government invested a lot of money into making Hoovsted the quality of life capital of Doggerland by building public transport, recreational facilities, affordable housing and public works projects. Walker is also credited with lowering the crime rate in Hoovsted by half, by being both tough on violent crime and ending the enforcement of many drug laws.

Post Mayoral Career
After leaving office, Walker became one of King Moose's official cartographers and oversaw the creation, design and printing of every official map of Doggerland between 1992 and 2008. After resigning from his position in early 2008, Walker bought the failing Scuvell Farlander and reformed it into a news-media giant. His new corporation, Farlander News-Media Corporation soon bought out many smaller papers including the Nandels Bay Bulletin, Medost Times-Post, Zuiland Journal, North Doggerland Standard and Mistlân Outlook. In a controversial move, the corporation bought 24% of its rival, J&P Corporation in the mid 2010s. In a 2021 interview, Walker has publicly stated that he does not own any shares in J&P Corp. Walker stepped down as chairman of Farlander Corp. in late 2020 before running for parliament.