The Alaska Legislature on Wednesday approved almost all of Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s appointments to state boards and commissions during an annual joint session of the state House and Senate.
Of the 99 officials awaiting confirmation, the Legislature rejected only two: physician assistant Samantha Smith to the state medical board, and principal Kimberly Bergey to the Professional Teaching Practices Commission.
That rejection rate is not unusual, but one of the votes may have made legislative history.
Smith’s nomination was rejected by a 0-60 vote, something Senate President Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak, called “remarkable.”
Neither he nor any other member of the Legislature could recall a prior case when a nominee failed to receive a single vote in their favor. Stevens has been serving in the Legislature since 2000.
The Alaska Legislature’s library does not keep track of confirmation votes, the librarian said, and a search of online newspaper archives failed to find a similar vote.
Smith did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
Speaking during the joint session, lawmakers questioned Smith’s experience and said they had received overwhelming testimony against her.
Smith is a physician assistant at a chiropractic office, and that’s not representative of the work that most PAs do, said Rep. Andrew Gray, D-Anchorage and a physician assistant himself.
Rep. Zack Fields, D-Anchorage, said the Alaska Academy of Physician Assistants, which represents PAs across the state, wrote a letter opposing her confirmation, as did individual PAs across the state.
Multiple legislators said they were concerned about Smith’s performance during confirmation hearings. In one hearing, Smith appeared to violate HIPAA, the federal health privacy act, Fields said.
“The hearings, I thought, were consistently troubling,” said Sen. Matt Claman, D-Anchorage.
He mentioned one example: Smith said she believes the state needs more attorneys able to file malpractice claims against doctors to keep them in line.
“If enthusiasm was a qualification, she has 150% of that. I was a little taken aback by some of the comments that she made,” said Rep. Mike Prax, R-North Pole.
After rejecting Smith, legislators approved Brent Taylor for the medical board by a close 33-27 vote. Taylor is the board’s current chair.
Rep. Justin Ruffridge, R-Soldotna and a pharmacist, said Taylor has taken a “somewhat antagonistic” approach toward working with other licensed medical professionals.
The vast majority of nominations received no comment from legislators.
Bergey, renominated to a board that oversees teacher performance, appeared to have few problems getting legislative approval until Sen. Bill Wielechowski, D-Anchorage, noted that she was not nominated for her seat by the state principals association, as required by law.
Bergey had the association’s nomination when she was originally appointed to the professional practices board, but not for her renomination.
“I do not believe this person meets the statutory requirements, and I believe we must reject this nomination,” Wielechowski said.
Legislators rejected her nomination with 33 legislators opposed.
Last year, legislators approved 78 of 81 nominees. In 2023, it was 77 of 78. Three years ago, the governor had a perfect score: The Legislature approved all of his nominees.
• James Brooks is a longtime Alaska reporter, having previously worked at the Anchorage Daily News, Juneau Empire, Kodiak Mirror and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. This article originally appeared online at alaskabeacon.com. Alaska Beacon, an affiliate of States Newsroom, is an independent, nonpartisan news organization focused on connecting Alaskans to their state government.
