JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Latest on a Cabinet appointee of Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy (all times local):
4:30 p.m.
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy is standing behind one of his Cabinet members accused of lying about his business background after the nominee on Thursday clarified information he gave at a state Senate hearing.
A Dunleavy spokesman says the administration looks forward to legislative confirmation of Administration Commissioner Jonathan Quick.
Quick says he misspoke Tuesday during the hearing when he was asked when he sold his interest in Seattle-area coffee and frozen yogurt businesses. He replied he believed it was in 2014.
He told senators in a letter Thursday he should have clarified that he parted ways with the company and it happened in 2012.
Quick says he had entered into a verbal equity-stake venture that didn’t materialize into a written agreement, leading to his departure.
An owner of the Washington state businesses, Janie Reynolds, had disputed Quick’s characterization of his work and said he never had an ownership stake.
Orignal Story:
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A member of Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s cabinet has been accused of lying about his business background while a new hire in the commissioner’s department faces scrutiny for racially charged and misogynistic social media comments.
Seattle-area coffee chain owner disputes Administration Commissioner Jonathan Quick’s statements during a confirmation hearing earlier this week that he had sold an ownership stake in Anthem Coffee and Tea and Elements Frozen Yogurt. In a letter to senators, Janie Reynolds said only she and her husband have ever had ownership.
Quick on his resume said he developed business and brand and marketing plans, hired and trained staff and helped recruit investors and capital for the businesses.
He told senators he connected with a friend from high school and they opened a cafe/restaurant and a frozen yogurt shop.
He later was asked by Democratic Sen. Bill Wielechowski when he sold his ownership interest in Anthem Coffee and Tea and Elements Frozen Yogurt and who his co-investors were. Quick said he believed it was 2014 and said the other party was a private party.
Reynolds, in her letter, said no one beside her and her husband have ever had any percentage of ownership. “The ‘private party’ he speaks of is fictitious,” she wrote.
She also labeled as false the resume language about recruiting investors and capital. “No one invested in our company,” she wrote. “All capital sources were applied for and secured by me.”
Quick was hired in 2011 to organize their family business but was fired after a year, she wrote.
Messages seeking comment were left for Quick, Reynolds and a Dunleavy spokesman.
The department provides centralized administrative services to state agencies dealing with things such as labor relations, leasing of space and retirement and benefits programs. The public defender agency and Division of Motor Vehicles are among the other agencies that fall under the department.
Meanwhile, Art Chance faces scrutiny for Facebook comments about minorities and women, including Democratic presidential hopeful California Sen. Kamala Harris. Posts from Chance were first highlighted by The Alaska Landmine political blog.
Chance posted on Facebook Tuesday that he had accepted a policy post within the Department of Administration. The state online employee directory didn’t list him Thursday.
A message seeking comment was left for Chance.
Vince Beltrami, president of the Alaska AFL-CIO, expressed concerns with Chance. “I’ve never met a more abrasive and caustic-type person on social media, and there’s a lot of them out there,” he said.
