The Alaska Legislature voted narrowly today to reject Bethany Marcum’s appointment to the University of Alaska’s Board of Regents, marking the only rejection in this year’s round of confirmation votes.
Marcum is a long-time figure in far-right politics in Alaska as the CEO of the Alaska Policy Forum, who served in a high-profile role on the Alaska Redistricting Board during the latest cycle. Opponents of her confirmation said she wasn’t the right fit to oversee the University of Alaska, given a long track record seen by many as atagonistic toward public schools, the university system and government in general.
Much talk was about her support of Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s first budget proposal and subsequent vetoes that saw the University of Alaska’s state funding slashed by 41%. While some Republicans questioned if anyone could be sure she supported those cuts, Anchorage Democratic Rep. Andy Josephson noted there were media reports of her comments applauding the vetoes at the time.
“She was sort of abetting and supportive of those draconian vetoes. My problem is if you’re appointed, for example, to the Board of Hairdressers and Barbers, you better believe in a clean cut. You better believe in a good style,” he said, eliciting some chuckles. “You’ve gotta have some belief in the institution you’re serving. Yes, you can be a critic. Of course, you can offer diversity. I know there is already diversity. But you’ve gotta believe in the basic premise of the institution. There’s no way to say, ‘Oh, yeah, I like this institution and also support cutting 41% of the state grant.’ I can’t connect those dots.”
During her confirmation hearings, Marcum claimed that she never specifically endorsed the governor’s veto of the University of Alaska, just the vetoes in general (which specifically cut the University of Alaska).
While the Legislature can set the funding level for the University of Alaska, the Board of Regents is responsible for approving the system’s budget and setting policies.
Several brought up her work on the Alaska Redistricting Board, where she was one of the three-member Republican majority and key architect behind a plan to split Eagle River so the conservative community could be in the driver’s seat of two Senate districts. The Alaska Supreme Court twice struck down the plan as an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander, with her on-the-record comment that it would give Eagle River “more representation” featuring prominently throughout the rulings.
A few questioned her honesty.
Sen. Jesse Kiehl, D-Juneau, recalled a conversation he had with her while both were working as legislative aides in the Legislature. The only problem, Kiehl noted, was that Marcum never disclosed that she was working in the Legislature and represented herself as a parent having trouble navigating the legislative process who was concerned about the children “trapped” in Alaska’s education system.
“The university has policies on academic integrity; we don’t let students disassemble, plagiarize, misrepresent,” he said. “We must not appoint a regent who did to me.”
Marcum’s supporters were effusive in their praise for her, arguing that as a conservative, she would bring some much-needed “diversity” to the University of Alaska and suggesting that she had a plan to fix nearly every problem facing the university system.
As for the accusations of dishonesty, Rep. Dan Saddler, an Eagle River Republican who testified in support of Marcum’s work on the Alaska Redistricting Board, said that’s just how people talk in the building.
“We should not hold someone culpable and unqualified for an offhand remark,” he said.
The final vote on Marcum’s appointment was 31N-29Y. A later attempt to reopen the vote brought by far-right Rep. David Eastman for a second try failed on a 34N-26Y margin.
The rejection means Marcum will no longer serve on the Board of Regents and is ineligible for reappointment. Instead, the governor will be able to appoint a new person to the Board of Regents, who can serve at least through next year’s confirmation hearing.
Matt Acuña Buxton is a long-time political reporter who has written for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner and The Midnight Sun political blog. He also authors the daily politics newsletter, The Alaska Memo, and can frequently be found live-tweeting public meetings on Twitter.
