Governor wants everyday Alaskans to lead state-owned corp. The three Alaska Gasline Development Corporation board members removed from the governing body this week were unseated to make way for everyday Alaskans whose careers have not been intertwined with the natural gas industry, Gov. Bill Walker told the Empire on Wednesday.
“We have a lot of (gas line) professionals already on staff (in the state government); we have lots of professionals who are advisors and consultants,” he said. “It’s a lay board, so I think we need to have Alaskans with energy concerns on the board.”
Late Tuesday evening, Walker’s office announced the removal of former state Sen. Drue Pearce, former BP Alaska executive Al Bolea and Texas-based pipeline consultant Richard Rabinow from the seven-member board, which oversees the state-owned corporation invested in the Alaska Liquefied Natural Gas project, among others.
Pearce was appointed by former President George W. Bush as the first federal coordinator of Alaska natural gas transportation projects in 2006, according to the AGDC website. Besides working for BP Alaska, Bolea was the CEO of Dubai Petroleum in the United Arab Emirates. Walker said he knows these two personally, and “they’re fine people,” but they don’t fit in with his vision for the board. Rabinow worked previously as the president of ExxonMobil Pipeline Company. He was controversally appointed to the AGDC board in 2014 by then-Gov. Sean Parnell, much to the consternation of Democrats in the state Legislature who spoke out against it because of Rabinow’s out-of-state residency.
Walker said Wednesday that he is a “strong believer in local hire,” even for a volunteer board. “I think Alaskans should make up our boards and commissions,” he said.
He said he will find replacements for the three members within the next 30 days.
A spokeswoman for the Alaska Oil and Gas Association said the trade organization, which represents 14 oil- and gas-related companies in the state, did not want to comment on how Walker’s decisions could impact the industry.
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