Dunleavy rejects state rocket company executive who signed recall petition

The Anchorage Daily News has excellent coverage of a story I scratched the surface on here December 7, the removal of University of Alaska Geophysical Institute Director Bob McCoy as board chair of the state rocket company.

In addition to firing McCoy, who had served as chairman for about eight years, Dunleavy refused to sign off on the hiring of Sean Thomas as president of the state-owned venture.

Thomas is certain of why that happened, he told the Daily News.

“Thomas, who was selected as president and CEO by the Alaska Aerospace Corp. board, said he believed Dunleavy rejected his hiring because Thomas and his wife, an Anchorage public school teacher, signed a petition to recall Dunleavy four years ago,” the Daily News reported.

Dunleavy and his public relations man had nothing to say.

“Dunleavy’s spokesperson Jeff Turner declined to answer questions about Alaska Aerospace Corp., including why Thomas’ hire wasn’t approved by the governor and why McCoy was removed from the board.”

There is much more to the story. Read it here.

This is first-rate investigative reporting by Iris Samuels. The report is thorough, backed up with solid documentation and damning evidence.

I suspect that Thomas is accurate about Dunleavy blocking him from the position for petty reasons. This happened under a hiring policy adopted by the Dunleavy administration that gives the governor more political control and he used it in this case to stonewall.

The minutes of an October 4 meeting show the frustration with Dunleavy’s refusal to give the corporation an answer on hiring Thomas.

When Dunleavy appears before the press to release his budget, reporters should ask him about why he rejected Thomas and fired McCoy. Dunleavy and his handlers will object and claim that the question is inappropriate.

When he ducks the question a first time, the next reporter to ask a question should repeat it.

Alaska news organizations should find out whether the first hurdle for every applicant for major state jobs under Dunleavy—those over which the governor has some control—is if applicants are automatically disqualified if they signed the recall petition.

Has anyone been appointed by Dunleavy to any top state job or major board or commission who signed the recall petition?