Newly appointed Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission member Jessie Chmielowski flew through her interview with both the Alaska House and Senate Resources committees on Monday, and received no apparent opposition from committee members.
She had been appointed to the seat that is reserved for a petroleum engineer. The committees referred her to their respective floors with a recommendation to confirm.
Chmielowski has replaced Cathy Foerster, who has retired after 14 years on the commission.
Meanwhile, Hollis French has until March 30 to appeal his dismissal to the Alaska Superior Court. Since that’s a Saturday, he’ll likely appeal the decision on Friday.
French occupied the AOGCC position reserved for a member of the public. That seat is currently vacant. French had been appointed by former Gov. Bill Walker as repayment for dropping his candidacy for lieutenant governor in 2014, so that Walker could form up a no-party ticket with Byron Mallott.
The agreement required French to drop his position as lieutenant governor nominee from the Democrat ticket, and lieutenant governor candidate Craig Fleener had to to drop from Walker’s no-party ticket.
French was dismissed last month from the AOGCC by Gov. Michael Dunleavy for poor attendance at work. That seat remains vacant, pending the expected appeal.
