Last month, Brett Huber resigned as the chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (AOGCC). In his resignation letter, Huber cited his family and his desire to focus on retirement. The Landmine later learned of an HR investigation into Huber that was allegedly about his toxic behavior in the workplace.
Huber, who has had a long career working political jobs in state government, was appointed chair of the three-member AOGCC by Governor Mike Dunleavy (R – Alaska) in January 2023.
The job came with a cushy $150,000 salary. But in addition to his salary, Huber enjoyed lavish state funded travel, including Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from May 2023 – May 2024.
Other trips included Park City, Bismarck, Deadwood, Houston, and Washington, D.C. In total, Huber enjoyed more than $32,000 in state funded travel.Â
The other two AOGCC commissioners, Jessie Chmielowski and Greg Wilson, only took two trips each during the same period.
The Landmine obtained this information through a public records request.Â
Here is a summary of the travel for Huber, Chmielowski, and Wilson from May 2023 – May 2024.
Brett Huber
You can click on the location to see the travel authorization form.
- Deadwood, South Dakota – conference – 7/23/2023-7/29/2023 – $2,195.09Â
- Prudhoe Bay – Inspections – 8/24/2023-8/26/2023 – $940.62
- Park City, Utah – IOGCC conference – 10/15/2023-10/18/2023 – $2,547.85
- Prudhoe Bay – Hearings – 10/26/2023-10/28/2023 – $460.75
- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Hearings – 11/4/2023-11/11/2023 – $3,986.16
- Bismarck, North Dakota – Hearings – 12/03/2023-12/10/2023 – $1,315.38
- Juneau – Hearings – 2/26/2024-2/28/2024 – $1,548.04
- Juneau – Hearings – 3/03/2024-3/08/2024 – $3,182.83
- Juneau – Meetings – 3/10/2024-3/12/2024 – $1,361.84
- Houston, Texas – CERA Week 3/16/2024-3/23/2024 – $9,568.47
- Juneau – Meetings – 3/26/2024-3/28/2024 – $904.46
- Washington D.C. – Hearings/meetings – 4/14/2024-4/18/2024 – $3,496.26
- Juneau – Hearings/meetings – 4/22/2024-4/22/2024 – $618.83
Total: $32,126.58Â
Jessie Chmielowski
- Tampa, Florida – GWPC annual forum – 9/11/2023-9/15/2023 $2,308.23
- Park City, Utah – IOGCC conference – 10/15/2023-10/18/2023 $2,337.95
Total: $4,646.18Â
Greg Wilson
Park City, Utah – IOGCC conference – 10/15/2023-10/20/2023 – $2,404.48
D.C. – Inspections – 3/02/2024-3/08/2024 – $547.95
Total: $2,952.43Â
$3900 for a 5 day trip to Kuala Lampur.
Wow, that guy must have really been living the high life. Did he get an extra scoop of noodles with his meal?
I would be interested to know what hearings he was traveling to and if they were necessary but declaring these relatively low expenses as “lavish” is ridiculous.
Why does sitting on a airplane crossing the dateline (in both directions entitle you to an additional day of perform?
He received 2 1/2 days per diem for travelling ~39 hours to Malaysia 1 1/2 days for travelling ~96 hours from Malaysia to Anchorage (layovers sucked on the return trip). So he got an extra day flying to Malaysia and was shorted a day flying home. The note “cross dateline” helps explain the discrepancy. If it was a one-way ticket, it could be a minor scandal – I guess. But as a roundtrip it all comes out in the wash. Ultimately, he was paid per diem for the number of days he was away from Anchorage, which is appropriate. I… Read more »
Jeff’s choice of topics is entirely vendetta driven. That being said, pile on the poop stain Huber, dude is a disingenuous ass clown