OPINION: 8 Alaska lawmakers upheld the public trust

Core elements of good government, according to the United Nations, include transparency, integrity, accountability and the absence of corruption and wrongdoing.

In 2024, eight Alaska lawmakers followed these principles and deserve special commendation for their upstanding action when they voted to not confirm Donald Handeland to the Alaska Personnel Board (AKPB) during the legislative joint session this past May.

Unfortunately, 32 representatives, and all of Alaska’s state senators, voted to confirm Handeland.

The powers and duties of the AKPB are important and significantly impact thousands of public officials, state employees, and board and commission members. They approve or disapprove amendments to the personnel rules, consider and act upon recommendations for the extension of the partially exempt service and the classified service, and hear and determine appeals by employees in the classified service.

Most importantly, the three members of the AKPB are also charged to carry out powers and duties under the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act. Their job is to keep everyone honest and to make sure state employees operate on the up-and-up. Those powers and duties impact hundreds of thousands of Alaskans.

The Alaska Public Interest Research Group (AKPIRG) opposed Handeland’s appointment to the AKPB because of his substantial failure to adhere to Alaska’s open meetings laws while he was a member of the Alaska State Officers Compensation Commission (SOCC). We also opposed his confirmation because of his demonstrated lack of relevant and meaningful experience, as well as knowledge or understanding of personnel issues, and good ethics. Additionally, we expressed concerns about his direct and close partisan ties to the Alaska GOP and its members, because such conflicts render him incapable of making unbiased and objective decisions.

However, our primary concern is that Handeland had already demonstrated an alarming tendency to betray the public trust and violate Alaska’s Open Meetings Act. Last year, while Handeland was chair, the SOCC rammed through a 68% pay hike for legislators and significant salary increases for Gov. Dunleavy and his top officials without reasonable public notice and input.

The Open Meetings Act protects the public’s right to know and requires that the public be provided prior knowledge of all steps occurring in the decision-making process, with limited exception, and must also have access to materials and documents being considered at meetings. In 2023, the SOCC failed at every step to meet these requirements, with the help of the governor. The process was, as Rep. David Eastman put it during Handeland’s confirmation, “a charade.”

The good news is that another AKPB member’s term has expired. Al Tamagni sat on the AKPB for nearly 20 years. He has a lengthy record of acrimonious dealings with the public during Board meetings. His combative conduct through the years with members of the public when they came before the board has silenced public participation and broken the public trust in the Alaska Personnel Board.

Based on Handeland’s conduct and lack of integrity so far as a public official, the odds are things won’t get any better when it comes to the public interest at the Alaska Personnel Board anytime soon.

AKPIRG is on the record with a call to overhaul the AKPB and the way it functions. We look to legislators to correct this moribund board that consistently misses the mark when it comes to good ethics in our state government.

“The Alaska Personnel Board needs to do better than this. Alaskans deserve to have faith and confidence that their public officers work for the public’s interest and not their own personal interests,” stated AKPIRG executive director Veri di Suvero.

Last year, Handeland pushed through a pay raise to legislators by trampling public process. This spring, all but eight legislators rewarded him through an appointment he was unqualified for. Today, Handeland is one of three individuals who decide whether the governor who appointed him has acted unethically.

By voting “no” on Handeland’s appointment, Alaska State Reps. Andy Josephson, Andrew Gray, Alyse Galvin, C.J. McCormick, David Eastman, Donna Mears, Genevieve Mina and Rebecca Himschoot modeled how Alaska’s elected officials can still uphold trust in government, a rare and valuable currency.

Andrée McLeod is Good Government Director for Alaska Public Interest Research Group. Robin O’Donoghue is Special Projects Lead for AKPIRG.

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