Nothing that John Espindola has done during his years of working for the state as a “personal assistant” and policy analyst for Gov. Mike Dunleavy qualifies him to serve on the Regulatory Commission of Alaska.

And it is doubtful that the work Espindola did in New Mexico in the years before he hired on with Dunleavy in 2018 meet the minimum educational and professional requirements spelled out in state law about the people entrusted to regulate Alaska’s utilities.

Espindola does not have a law degree, is not a member of the Alaska Bar Association, does not have a degree in any of the six academic fields listed in state law or five years of work experience in those positions.

We’ve had people on the RCA with thin resumes before, but Espindola’s is the thinnest. And he won’t face a legislative confirmation vote until next year. His biography on the RCA website lists his more than three years as Dunleavy’s personal assistant first on his short list of credentials.

Espindola has a degree in political science from the University of New Mexico and worked in plumbing and construction. The State of New Mexico says he has two contractor licenses and worked for Lua Plumbing LLC, which had its license expire in 2019. He has a MM-98 license for plumbing work of various types and a GF-9 license for utility line work.

The biography posted on the RCA website is vague about what he did in New Mexico, except to say he spent more than a decade in construction.

“In 2018, I began my service to the people of Alaska when Governor Dunleavy came into office. For over three years I served the governor as his personal assistant,” Espindola wrote on his LinkedIn page.

“Now I support the administration working on the policy team and also lead the newly established Office of Energy Innovation.”

(The Office of Energy Innovation is not a real office, but a task assigned to Espindola last year after Dunleavy issued an executive order during his campaign saying the office would require no added budget and no added staffing in the governor’s office.)

On June 12, Dunleavy appointed Espindola to the RCA with no public announcement, a move first reported by Nat Herz of the Northern Journal.

The job pays about $125,000 a year and Espindola replaces former Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan, who also has a degree in political science, not in any of the fields listed in the law.

The argument will be made that almost any job in state or local government or private industry can qualify as the “actual experience” specified in state law. But the language in the statute is supposed set a minimum bar for RCA commissioners, who have to deal with complex matters that require a working knowledge of utilities and finances.

Dunleavy’s tendency to appoint political allies—ignoring qualifications and treating the state requirements as infinitely flexible—does not inspire confidence.

Serving on the RCA is one of the most consequential state jobs in terms of the financial impact on Alaskans and their daily lives.

Serving as a personal assistant to the governor doesn’t mean Espindola is qualified to regulate utilities.

Just as serving as a photographer for the governor didn’t mean that Jeremy Cubas was qualified to be the head of Dunleavy’s imaginary Office of Family & Life.

The Northern Journal also reported that Dunleavy fired Gwen Holdmann from the energy security task force Dunleavy created earlier this year. Holdmann is a respected researcher with a great track record in Aaska. There is no better person at the university to serve on the task force. The university should have backed her up by protesting the move, but it hasn’t.

It’s an outrageous decision by Dunleavy, who appointed Holdmann as one of two vice chairs of the group. Dunleavy did not give a real reason for her dismissal. No one is suggesting or hinting that she did anything wrong. Dunleavy owes her an apology.

My guess is that this is a power play by longtime GOP political operative and government employee Curtis Thayer, the other vice chair of the task force. He doesn’t have the scientific background and experience that Holdmann does. I’ll have more to say about this in a later blog post.

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