Permanent Fund trustees damage the fund and its reputation by stonewalling on Rodell firing

In a legislative hearing two months ago, Craig Richards, the chairman of the trustees of the Permanent Fund, staked out an arrogant position and tried to blow off legislators who wanted details on the surprise firing of CEO Angela Rodell.

Richards didn’t appear to understand why the abrupt firing of an executive with a strong track record in Alaska and a solid statewide reputation would set off alarm bells.

And he didn’t appear to understand that one of the main jobs of the trustees of the Permanent Fund is to ensure that the institution keeps the trust of the public.

“I am truly shocked that I am here,” he told the Legislative Budget & Audit Committee, sounding like a latter-day Claude Rains wandering into Rick’s Cafe in “Casablanca” and blowing his whistle.

“This is, this is a new one to me, Ok. We have a at-will employee who reports to the board, who years of documented evidence demonstrates that there were trust problems going both ways between the board and the executive director,” Richards said.

“This is the employee that reports to the board. This has been going on for years. The board decided to make a change. I think it’s pretty apparent that we had the authority to do it. I think it’s pretty apparent that like many, many people that work in state government at the top levels, that you know, it’s an at-will relationship and when it’s not working, it’s not working.”

“To me, what it seems is frankly, Ms. Rodell is popular. And she’s making a lot of hay and that is getting a response and a feedback.”

“What is best for the fund is to move on,” Richards said.

He was wrong then. He is wrong now. Perhaps it is time to move on from Richards.

The Legislature hired an independent investigator to look into the matter, a sensible move that will limit political interference.

But the Permanent Fund trustees and the Dunleavy administration have refused to cooperate, which is damaging to the fund.

The trustees, led by Richards, are now threatening legal action, claiming that legitimate questions by the Legislature are inappropriate.

Richards and the other trustees are claiming that the Legislature does not have the authority under law or in the Constitution to investigate this matter. The arrogant card, which is on full display in this letter from the attorney general’s office, is not a smart one to play.

It’s in keeping with the dismissive and insulting attitude that Richards showed during his performance in January.

If necessary, the law needs to be changed to provide real legislative oversight and prevent the trustees from acting like a separate branch of government. The Rodell episode shows that the safeguards in place now are insufficient.

One necessary change is to reduce the number of direct employees of the governor who serve on the board to one. That should have been done a long time ago, as recommended by the late Elmer Rasmuson, the first chairman of the trustees, to limit the power of any governor in demanding political obedience.

Richards, former AG under Bill Walker, worked as an attorney for Gov, Mike Dunleavy in opposing the recall campaign and is a political donor to Dunleavy. Richards is not doing this without consultation with the governor and his political staff, including the two commissioners who serve with Richards on the permanent fund board, and the attorney general.

The budget and audit committee has a meeting planned for Tuesday for an update on the Rodell investigation. The stonewalling is a sign that there is something to hide.

The trustees, on a 5-1 vote, removed Rodell in December without giving a clue that anything was amiss. This creates the natural suspicion that it was a political takedown engineered by Dunleavy and his allies on the board.

In January, Sen. Natasha von Imhof spoke for the Legislative Budget & Audit Committee when she said: “It is this committee’s goal that the fund is protected from political intervention or manipulation to ensure the fund’s continued growth and sustainability. And without that assurance, the fund’s health and future sustainability for Alaska is in jeopardy."

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