Wednesday, March 27, 2019 (Nome, AK) – Alaska Governor Michael J. Dunleavy today issued a statement following a meeting yesterday with Alaska Supreme Court Chief Justice Joel Bolger:
“Yesterday, I met with Chief Justice Bolger to discuss a variety of issues surrounding the process to fill a vacancy on the Palmer Superior Court,” said Governor Dunleavy. “This meeting was both productive and fruitful, and provided important clarification about process I was seeking when deciding to delay this nomination. As a result, I intend to interview the two Palmer Superior Court nominees and will soon fill this vacancy from the council’s nominees.
“In declining to name a second nominee to the Palmer Superior Court, I announced my intention to better understand the judicial nomination process and to further clarify whether or not the Council was in fact upholding the merit and qualifications-based standard. My hope was to further review and consider the information before us and ensure this process was thoroughly understood by my office,” Dunleavy said. “Based on my discussions with Chief Justice Bolger, my concerns have been satisfied. I expect to make an announcement on this matter in the near future.”
On March 21st, 2019, Governor Dunleavy announced his selections to fill Alaska Superior and District Court judgeships in Utqiagvik, Kodiak, Anchorage, and Palmer, but declined to fill a second vacancy to the Palmer Superior Court without additional information.
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