Anchorage Daily News

JUNEAU -- The head of the state's Department of Health and Social Services announced her resignation Thursday after a meeting this week with the governor in which they differed over the future of the department.

Commissioner Karleen Jackson gave the department's 3,500 employees one day's notice of her Friday departure.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Jackson said she came to the decision after a meeting on Monday with Gov. Sarah Palin and other staff members to talk about their "vision for the department."

"We had a little bit of a difference of opinion on how the department should move forward, so I offered my resignation after that conversation and after thinking about it for a while," Jackson said.

Jackson declined to discuss the differences.

"It's a moot point. I'm not going to be the person leading the department on from here," Jackson said.

Palin's spokeswoman Sharon Leighow said she didn't know what the specific differences were. She said Jackson had served the administration well.

Leighow said the governor intends to carry forward with the "big-picture priorities," including substance abuse, health and wellness, health care reform and long-term care.

Jackson served as deputy commissioner beginning in 2003 and was appointed commissioner by then-Gov. Frank Murkowski in 2005.

She was one of only two of Murkowski's cabinet appointees to keep their jobs under Palin.

Jackson has come under fire from Republican legislators who cited concerns over spending requests and a lack of leadership within the department.

Jackson said lawmakers' criticism was not a factor in her resignation.

"There's criticism that goes back to the beginning of the department," Jackson said. "It's one of those departments that does not generate income, and it's a delicate balance between putting resources into issues that are difficult for people and putting resources into jobs and roads and infrastructure."

Bill Hogan, Deputy Commissioner for Family, Community and Integrated Services, will serve as acting commissioner until Palin selects a permanent replacement.

Palin's chief of staff, Mike Tibbles, resigned May 1.

Jackson said the two departures are unrelated.

"I didn't have a conversation with the chief of staff before or after he resigned about what he was doing. It was a different event," she said.

Daily News reporter Kyle Hopkins contributed to this report.

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