Bill tightening utility commissioner requirements awaits action by Dunleavy

UPDATE: Gov. Mike Dunleavy signed House Bill 307 Wednesday, along with two other energy bills.

The Alaska Legislature approved a bill this year that, among many other things, will make it harder for Gov. Mike Dunleavy to appoint unqualified people to the Regulatory Commission of Alaska.

But Dunleavy has yet to sign the measure, House Bill 307, and one of the five commissioner jobs is vacant, so we’ll see if another unqualifed person is appointed.

One of the many provisions in the bill is a requirement that a commissioner have a relevant college degree and five years of actual experience “in the field associated with the degree.”

The existing law is vague and allows five years of almost any experience in a number of fields to substitute for a degree. The work of the RCA is highly technical and competent commissioners need a technical background.

As I wrote here last summer, nothing that John Espindola did during his years of working for the state as a “personal assistant” and policy analyst for Dunleavy qualified him to serve on the Regulatory Commission of Alaska.

It was clear that the work Espindola did in New Mexico in the years before he hired on with Dunleavy in 2018 did not 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 professions. He did not sign the Dunleavy recall petition.

Espindola was one of three members of the RCA who did not meet the minimum job qualifications in state law.

Alaska legislators concluded, however, that the law had to be changed to tighten the qualifications. The bill they approved does that and provides a hefty pay increase, which is justified, because the commission is an important one that deals with utility rates across the state. Sen. Cathy Giessel pushed for this change.

Here is the proposed change from HB 307, with the new language underlined in bold and the deleted language in parentheses.

One part of House Bill 307, awaiting action by the governor, would increase the requirements to serve on the Regulatory Commission of Alaska by clearly setting benchmarks for education and experience.

The five-member RCA has been down one commissioner since Janis Wilson, the only attorney on the commission, left her job when her six-year term expired March 1.

Four people applied to serve on the commission, Dunleay’s office told reporter Nat Herz in March.

Dunleavy did not appoint any of those four to the RCA, for reasons that remain unexplained.

Two months later, in a May 24 letter, Dunleavy quietly appointed one of his employees to the RCA—John Springsteen.

Since Springsteen was named to the RCA after the legislative session adjourned, there won’t be a confirmation vote for his new job until next year. He appears to meet the qualifications that will become law with Dunleavy’s signature of HB 307.

Delaying appointments until after the session and recycling candidates from a small circle of political supporters has been a hallmark of the Dunleavy administration.

Springsteen, former head of the Alaska Industrial Development & Export Authority, had been a leader of the so-called Alaska Development Team under Dunleavy.

The development team was the entity that Clark Penney, grandson of the late Bob Penney, was leading under a no-bid state contract.

The RCA did not announce that Springsteen had been named to the commission until July 10, saying the appointment was effective July 1. Before moving to the RCA, Spring was “development advisor” to Dunleavy.

Meanwhile, Keith Kurber has retired from the RCA, leaving the commission with four members. Kurber’s six-year term was to extend until 2027. He would not qualify for the RCA under the proposed new rules.

Kurber is a retired military officer and retired preacher who got campaign help from Dunleavy and ran for the Legislature and lost. His wife was a campaign donor to Dunleavy in 2022.

Dunleavy’s office has yet to update the RCA roster to note the retirement of Wilson, the retirement of Kurber and the appointment of Springsteen.

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KEEPING COUNT: Nancy Dahlstrom, 66, the oldest major candidate for Congress in Alaska, has been crowned an alleged “young gun” by the National Republican Congressional Committee. Rep. Mary Peltola is 50, while Nick Begich the third is 46.

FAMILY GUY: J.D. Vance has a habit of attacking women who don’t have children. Not men. “In August 2021, one month after launching his candidacy for the Senate, Vance’s campaign sent fundraising emails referring to the ‘radical childless leaders in this country’ following his appearance on ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight’ where he made comments deriding ‘childless cat ladies’ and leaders running the country, CNN reported.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski tells POLITICO, in her usual understated manner, that the family guy’s comments were offensive: "If the Republican Party is trying to improve its image with women, I don't think that this is working.”

Sen. Dan Sullivan has not shared his opinion on Vance’s views of women without children. But Sullivan was quick to announce he was offended by the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics.

“I love the Olympics,” Sullivan said on X. “They bring Americans and the world together. All the more reason why mocking The Last Supper during the open (sic) ceremonies and insulating millions of Christians around the world was the wrong way to begin. France needs to do better for the closing ceremonies.”

The Frenchman who directed the event said the scene was not inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s depiction of The Last Supper, but was a depiction of Greek mythology and Dionysus.

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