Some state lawmakers have signaled their opposition to the nomination of the leader of a conservative advocacy organization to serve on the University of Alaska Board of Regents.
Bethany Marcum is executive director of the Alaska Policy Forum, which advocates for limiting government and reducing state spending, including on education.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy nominated Marcum for the board earlier this year. Her appointment is subject to confirmation by the entire Legislature, which will vote on the governor’s nominations in April or May.
The House and Senate Education committees held hearings Friday to consider Marcum’s nomination, during which some lawmakers questioned whether she is an appropriate choice for the board that oversees the state’s public universities. They cited the Policy Forum’s backing for Dunleavy’s 2019 proposal to slash by 40% state funding for the university system.
After Dunleavy faced backlash for his proposal, Marcum was among those who publicly defended his plan to massively reduce state spending.
“To me, the Policy Forum has been very negative toward our education system,” said Juneau Rep. Andi Story, a Democrat.
Lawmakers also raised concerns over Marcum’s actions on the state redistricting board. Citing an illegal gerrymandering attempt, a judge last year overturned a map redrawing East Anchorage districts. The judge ruled that the Republican appointees to the board, including Marcum, had “some sort of coalition” and that there was “ample evidence of secretive process at play.”
Marcum denied violating rules governing open meetings or attempting to draw maps that would favor Republican candidates.
Sitka Rep. Rebecca Himschoot, an independent, said Marcum’s actions on the redistricting board “point to perhaps a lack of understanding or lack of respect for the open meetings act.”
Marcum, who was appointed to the redistricting board by Dunleavy, has resigned that post to take the Board of Regents seat.
Dunleavy’s other nominees to the Board of Regents include Dennis Michel, a businessman from Fairbanks; Joey Crum, chief executive of a vocational training company outside Palmer; and Paula Harrison, a human resources manager from Anchorage. All of the nominees are registered Republicans and longtime donors to Republican political candidates, including Dunleavy. None of the other nominees received the same level of questioning as Marcum did.
The Alaska Policy Forum is one of a network of self-described free-market think tanks spread across the country that advocate for reducing state spending, increasing school choice and reining in labor unions. The organization is often relied upon by conservative Republicans in Alaska’s Legislature, including this year by lawmakers opposing increases to K-12 education funding and legislators seeking to advance a tighter cap on state spending.
So far this year, the Alaska Policy Forum has made several presentations to House committees, all at the invitation of Republican lawmakers.
Mike Coons, president of an organization called Concerned Conservatives of Alaska, testified in support of Marcum’s nomination, reasoning that Dunleavy’s proposed 2019 cuts to the university system were beneficial. “There’s a lot of good things that came out of that. Sometimes, putting the hammer over the heads gets results.”
Alex Jorgensen, a current graduate student at UAA’s public policy master’s program, said he was in “complete shock” when Dunleavy proposed $130 million in cuts to the university system in 2019, but he found the Policy Forum’s support for the budget reductions “even more disappointing.”
“Personally, I can’t square the fiduciary responsibility of being a regent and supporting the university with her past decisions in supporting the budget cuts that would have dismantled the same university she’s trying to be a regent on,” said Jorgensen.
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