Anchorage Daily News

A lawyer with a long history of working for oil companies will serve as Alaska's new attorney general, if legislators approve.

Click to enlarge

Story tools

Comment on this story

E-mail a friend

Print

Digg this

Seed Newsvine

Send link via AIM

Font size : A | A | A

The naming of David Marquez, 59, as the government's top lawyer was one of three key Cabinet appointments announced Thursday by Gov. Frank Murkowski.

The governor also named McKie Campbell -- a member of former Gov. Wally Hickel's administration -- as commissioner of the Department of Fish and Game and Kurt Fredriksson, who has worked in state government since 1979, as commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation.

Murkowski's first attorney general, Gregg Renkes, resigned in February after being investigated for his role in a state trade deal that could have benefited a company in which he owned $120,000 in stock.

The governor said he asked for a pre-appointment ethics review to determine any possible conflict of interest involving Marquez's investments. Those include deferred compensation packages from two oil companies as well as brokerage accounts and mutual funds.

The 13-page review, by Barbara Ritchie, the chief assistant attorney general and ethics supervisor, and Paul Lyle, senior assistant attorney general, found no conflict.

"That question, while certainly legitimate, is certainly behind us," Murkowski said Thursday.

Marquez worked about 20 years for Arco Alaska Inc., ending up as vice president and chief counsel before Phillips Alaska Inc. bought it at a time BP acquired the parent firm, Atlantic Richfield Co. Marquez also spent two years with Phillips, which later became Conoco Phillips.

He deferred part of his income for tax reasons, a common arrangement for executives and well paid figures like professional athletes. So while the oil companies Marquez worked for no longer exist, the ones that took them over -- BP and Conoco Phillips -- still owe him payments for his work years ago. He has less than $2 million between the two deferred compensation plans.

But the money is not tied to the companies' profits or stock price. Marquez couldn't take an action that would affect his plans' value, the ethical analysis concluded.

"I can assure you there isn't a conflict of interest, and I will do everything I can to make sure that the public has whatever knowledge it requires, and I will pledge myself to fully representing the state of Alaska," Marquez said.

His wife, Pam, and the youngest of their three children, Rachel, a senior at West High School, stood nearby as he spoke.

Marquez should have no problem winning confirmation in the Legislature. Leaders of both parties said Murkowski made a good choice.

"Dave has been a friend of mine for a long time," said Sen. Ralph Seekins, R-Fairbanks, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Seekins said he and Marquez served on the board of the state chamber of commerce together. He said he worked with Marquez recently on changing the state's sentencing laws and found him willing to listen to various viewpoints and quick to find answers.

Democrats seemed to like him too. Anchorage Democratic Reps. Ethan Berkowitz and Eric Croft, both lawyers, praised the choice.

"This governor could do a lot worse," Croft said.

Marquez has been a regular campaign contributor, making a mark with thousands of dollars in donations over the years in state and local races, according to the Alaska Public Offices Commission. Most went to Republicans.

Marquez, as a consultant to Veco Corp. three years ago, was part of a push to give tax breaks to builders of the proposed natural gas pipeline. The controversial effort failed, with Croft among its biggest opponents at the time. Croft has no ill words for Marquez now and said he believes he can trust the new attorney general's ethics.

Campbell, 54, Murkowski's choice to lead Fish and Game, will replace Kevin Duffy, who retired. Campbell served as deputy Fish and Game commissioner under Hickel and managed Republican candidate Arliss Sturgulewski's unsuccessful campaign for governor in 1990.

He said he knows how strongly Alaskans feel about wildlife but feels that different interest groups don't have to be at odds.

"Every hunter I know also enjoys watching wildlife," said Campbell, who hunts deer and ducks and fishes for salmon, halibut and steelhead.

Former Game Board chairman Doug Pope said he was glad to hear Campbell had been appointed. "There will always be politics in it, but he'll do what's best for the state of Alaska."

Still, none of the three finalists for Fish and Game commissioner had broad support among hunters, fishermen and nonconsumptive users. The other two, Doug Mecum and Wayne Regelin, remain with the department.

Though Campbell wasn't the Alaska Outdoor Council's top choice, president Dick Bishop said he was easygoing and competent when they worked together on subsistence issues under Hickel. More recently, Bishop said, Campbell indicated he was comfortable with predator control programs designed to increase the availability of game. "That's a good sign from our standpoint," he said.

Joel Bennett, of the wildlife conservation group Defenders of Wildlife, dealt with Campbell on wolf-control issues in the 1990s and remembers him as "a reasonable, evenhanded guy." But Bennett expressed hope that Campbell will challenge ongoing efforts to expand predator control.

The governor's choice for environmental conservation commissioner drew mostly favorable reaction.

Fredriksson, 54, had been serving as acting DEC commissioner since Ernesta Ballard left the agency's top post in late October to take a job at Weyerhaeuser Corp., a large timber company.

He told reporters Thursday morning that he's glad to have the opportunity to help advance the governor's resource development agenda.

Having served throughout various administrations in Juneau, Fredriksson is seen as a political survivor and someone who knows how to handle people.

"He knows all the issues historically and can guess them into the future," said Judy Brady, executive director of the Alaska Oil and Gas Association.

Environmental watchdogs offered fairly high marks for Fredriksson as well but some questioned how much independence he will have to make his own decisions given the influence of Gov. Frank Murkowski's chief of staff, Jim Clark.

"Kurt Fredriksson is a long-time bureaucrat and it's not surprising that he would get tapped to head the agency. But the fact remains that Jim Clark is pulling all the policy strings for the administration so it's unclear how much influence the commissioners have," said Bob Shavelson, executive director of Cook Inlet Keeper.

The commissioners and attorney general will make $91,200 a year. Their appointments must be confirmed by the Legislature.

Daily News reporter Lisa Demer can be reached at ldemer@adn.com and 257-4390. Daily News reporters Sean Cockerham, Paula Dobbyn and Joel Gay contributed to this story.