Rupright appointed to fishery commission

ANCHORAGE — Verne Rupright is the first person to admit he doesn’t have much direct experience with commercial fishing.

However, it was his past experience as a personal injury attorney and the mayor of the Mat-Su Valley’s most populous city that he feels qualifies him for one of three seats on the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission. His appointment was announced this week.

“The job is essentially an administrative hearing judge,” he said.

The commission oversees rulings issued by hearings officers about whether entities can enter Alaska’s commercial fisheries, and makes a determination whether or not those rulings will be overturned, Rupright said.

A legal background is important because appeals of the commission’s decisions often end up in court, Rupright said. The commission generally draws from state and federal law, as well as scientific data provided by the Department of Fish & Game, in order to reach a decision, Rupright said.

The commission’s web site largely features images taken from Alaska’s commercial fisheries, though one of several pictures displaying on a rotation shows two extinct aquatic reptiles fighting.

Rupright was busy meeting with commission staff in Juneau this week, and getting up to speed on the commission’s role in Alaska’s second largest homegrown industry.

Wasilla is landlocked. However, the Alaska fishing industry is large enough that its long lines can reach all the way up to the Valley, Rupright said.

“A lot of them (fishermen) don’t live where their boats are sitting,” he said. “They’re not on their boats 7/24-365.”

Rupright’s appointment means that lawyers will occupy all three seats on the commission for the first time.

Fishing is also a prominent source of income along the Cook Inlet, Rupright pointed out, meaning it’s not entirely foreign territory. Because the commission’s decisions are often subject to legal scrutiny, an attorney and former mayor is a good fit, Rupright said.

“Everyone’s got a vested interest,” he said. “Everyone wants objective reasoning. I think this is a great challenge.”

Rupright was two-term mayor of Wasilla. His replacement, current mayor Bert Cottle, served as Rupright’s second-in-command before taking the reigns at the city. Rupright campaigned unsuccessfully as an independent to unseat Alaska Rep. Lynn Gattis (R-Wasilla) in November, and has been a supporter of the successful Bill Walker gubernatorial campaign, serving as a member of the governor’s transition team in the area of finance.

“The governor is confident he will help his agency confront the fiscal challenges ahead,” Walker spokeswoman Grace Jang wrote, in an email.

Contact Brian O’Connor at 352-2269 or brian.oconnor@frontiersman.com