Many will be called, but few will be chosen for scrutiny when dozens of Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s nominees to fill state posts, including commissioners of several departments, are considered by a joint session of the Alaska Legislature scheduled Tuesday morning.<\/p>\n
One name in particular likely to stand out is Bethany Marcum, one of four nominees for the University of Alaska’s Board of Regents. She encountered skepticism during committee hearings<\/a> since, as executive director of the Alaska Policy Forum, she expressed support for Dunleavy’s budget than in 2019 cut the university’s budget by 40%. She was a member of a state redistricting board, which a judge ruled last year attempted illegal gerrymandering in secret that violated open meetings laws.<\/p>\n State Sen. Löki Tobin, an Anchorage Democrat who chairs the Senate Education Committee, said Monday she will vote against Marcum’s confirmation and there are questions about several other nominees — as well as a wider concern about the makeup of Dunleavy’s selections she encountered as a member of four committees conducting hearings.<\/p>\n “Many of the folks that have been up for selection this year do not express the diversity and breadth of Alaska,” Tobin said. “Most of them that we have gone through hearings for are from Wasilla. A majority of them are white. A majority of them have not had experience with the diverse populations that are impacted by the departments or systems they have purview over.”<\/p>\n State Sen. Jesse Kiehl, a Juneau Democrat and another member of the Senate’s bipartisan majority, said Monday he will also vote against Marcum.<\/p>\n Tobin expressed her concerns about the lack of diversity in university regents nominees in a letter to Dunleavy. Inquires to his office Monday about her letter and remarks did notimmediately receive a response.<\/p>\n Among the other names legislators said are expected to receive opposition — if not necessarily enough to deny confirmation — is Adam Crum as commissioner of the Department of Revenue. He was the commissioner of the Department of Health and Social Services during the period leading up to a crisis resulting in a months-long backlog of food stamp applications as well as other public assistance programs.<\/p>\n Crum’s brother, Joey is among the other nominees for the university’s board of regents. He is the CEO of Northern Industrial Training, a Palmer-based private vocational school, a point of concern for some legislators.<\/p>\n