On Oct. 27, the newly installed Attorney General spawned an astonishing sweetheart scheme: importing an Indiana lawyer, with no Alaska ties or experience, presently working remotely, to occupy a freshly invented “State Solicitor General” post. The lawyer is now on the state payroll, working remotely and will be relocated later. Implausibly, he claimed Alaska needed this position to supposedly “strengthen the state’s appellate advocacy” and to now seemingly churn out even more superfluous amicus briefs in far-flung courts across the country. While Alaska is drowning in budget shortfalls, classrooms statewide are underfunded and essential programs are starved for resources, this is wasteful and frivolous.
Worse, it’s an outrageous slap in the face to the Department of Law and other Alaskan attorneys perfectly qualified to do this work. The next Governor should unwind this mess and stop it going forward.
Gregg Brelsford
Anchorage