Walt Blackman had barely been out of his military service for a year before he started running for office.
In 2016 he retired from a 21-year career in the U.S. Army, due to medical issues, and moved to Snow ake perma- nently, where his family had already been spending most of their time as mili- tary life took him from place to place.
By late 2017, he was traveling all over the huge Legislative District 6, running for a seat in the Arizona House of Representatives, which he won with 26.45 percent of the vote in a four-way race on Nov. 6.
“It was just a desire to continue to serve,” Blackman said of his transition from the military to civilian leadership. “Public trust in our political figures, that’s important, particularly now when everything is going on with such divi- sion in our country.
“A lot of people, their trust in political leaders is diluted. For me to do my job it required public trust, it required indi- vidual trust. It made it kind of easy for me to transition into this role.”
Blackman’s connection to the military tradition goes back even further than basic training. His father was a U.S. Air Force pilot, and he joined up as soon as he nished high school — he went to the Army instead of the USAF due to a spinal issue that would keep him from piloting.
Blackman was sent to Kuwait, Kosovo and Afghanistan with combat troops, and stationed in Germany, Fort Hood in Texas, and Fort Irwin National Training Center in California.
In addition to his time as a tank commander, Blackman served as a sexual harassment and assault prevention specialist within the Army, responsible for helping soldiers deal with misconduct within the ranks. Blackman said that his experience working within the institution, trying to publicize and fix problems that happened within such a strictly regimented organization, has helped him get the experience he hopes to bring to the state legislature.
In 2017, Arizona State Sen. Sylvia Allen [R-District 6] approached Blackman about running for the House of Representatives seat. Blackman said he was apprehensive at rst, not having experience in politics, but came around to the idea.
Blackman is part of a rare cohort — he is the first black Republican to be elected in Arizona. Blackman said that his identity makes him somewhat unique; there are few African-Americans in the district, and even fewer Republican ones. But Blackman said that he sees no contradiction, even if it does occasionally make him feel lonely.
“To me, it’s not surprising that I’m a Republican,” Blackman said. “However, to some people they think it’s surprising for me to be a black American, particularly in Arizona, when the percentage of black Americans in Arizona is really low, particularly in the 6th district — we’re talking 1 percent.”
“I’m a Republican because I believe in a lot of the principles of the Republican party, and those principles have nothing to do with a person’s background,” Blackman said. “I was raised in a family where personal accountability, responsibility, contributing, not taking and working hard were cornerstone in the things I learned growing up. I took that and applied that in my life and it’s made me who I am.”
In a year when Arizona Democrats did surprisingly well throughout the state, Blackman sees his own success as a rst-time candidate winning rst place out of four, as connected to his focus on values and rst principles in politics, not partisan ghts.
While Blackman is clear in his support for President Donald Trump, as much as any other Republican, he feels it was a mistake for many Republicans in the state and around the country to run on their support of the presi- dent and national issues, instead of focusing on small-bore local issues that affect people more.
“People’s lives aren’t centered around just building the wall [along the Mexican border],” Blackman said. “When you talk to folks about what’s really going on with them, like for example, Cholla [power plant near in Joseph City] closing — is building a wall going to keep that person from being unemployed when Cholla closes? No it’s not. So it’s actually really talking to folks and hearing what they want.”
“The message that I told folks is that I want to be in their corner and be a voice for them,” Blackman said. “And voices are basically aligned with their values and how they want to see their district and their state go.”
In Blackman’s view, one of the main issues facing the district is the ongoing opioid crisis — he notes that Navajo County has been one of the hardest hit areas in the whole country, especially on the American Indian reservations. In the Legislature, Blackman hopes to direct state grant towards local partners, including cutting regula- tions on operating across district lines, in order to prioritize preven- tion, education and treatment.
Blackman also talks up education, an issue that has been especially central to Arizona’s legislature ever since the Red for Ed teacher protests in the spring. Blackman has advocated in support of the teacher pay increase plans passed by the legislature and Gov. Doug Ducey this past year, and believes that the state’s strong economy means that they can continue without tax increases.
He has also been a strong advocate for school choice policies and vouchers, working off of a principle that “dollars should follow the backpack” in allowing state funding to go towards students who choose to attend a private school.
At an education-focused candidate forum before the elec- tion in Cottonwood, on Oct. 15, Blackman defended his views on charter schools and vouchers before an audience that included many teachers opposed to it.
His answers then, arguing in favor of his values in front of a crowd that disagreed, highlighted the outlook he seems to bring to politics.
“Simply because I’m a conservative doesn’t mean I don’t want to educate our children,” Blackman said at the forum. “Education is the key to success. Education is what brings us forward into the next generation to do wonderful things in our country. “I know I made some folks upset, but that’s America.”
Jon Hecht can be reached at 634-8551, or email jhecht@larsonnewspapers.com
