Interior Secretary defends Toohey appointment

by The Associated Press

Interior Secretary Gale Norton on June 20 defended her choice of Cam Toohey, the former director of Arctic Power, to serve as her special assistant for Alaska.

Toohey’s appointment has drawn fire from environmentalists and from Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass. who in a statement released June 18 called the appointment “breathtaking in its arrogance toward the public interest, and a new low point for the Bush administration.”

During a speech in Anchorage, Norton said she chose Toohey because he represents the views of Alaskans and of the Bush administration, which favors opening the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to development.

“As I understand it, it was apparently a mistake for me to choose someone who represented the mainstream views of Alaska as opposed to the mainstream views of Massachusetts,” Norton said. She noted that the nonprofit group that Toohey headed since 1996, Arctic Power, is funded by the state.

“Rather than being an industry lobbyist, Cam Toohey is representative of the public, a voice of Alaska citizens,” Norton said. “He joins the president and I in pledging to conserve Alaska’s vast resources for future generations of Americas to cherish and enjoy.”