A governor’s nominee for the Alaska Police Standards Council who served on the board for eight months has resigned following legislative confirmation hearings.
The resignation comes after legislative hearings where Veronica Lambertsen was questioned about her eligibility for a rural seat on the board and social media and defended conspiracy theories.
A spokesperson for Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s office confirmed Friday morning that Lambertsen had resigned from the council, but did not provide a reason for the resignation.
Lambertsen was nominated for a three-year term on the 13-member Alaska Police Standards Council, which oversees law enforcement standards statewide. She had begun her term on the council representing a public seat last August after her nomination, and was up for confirmation before the Legislature this session.
Lambertsen did not respond to a request for comment on the reason for her resignation on Friday.
In a confirmation hearing Wednesday, members of the Senate Judiciary Committee put questions to Lambertsen about social media posts going several years back, where she defended views related to a variety of conspiracy theories questioning the Holocaust, the Jan. 6 insurrection and others.
Lawmakers also questioned her eligibility for the seat, one of two public seats reserved to represent rural communities with a population of 2,500 or less, and suggested Wednesday she was not eligible for the position.
Lambertsen is the owner of a motel in Bird Creek, a small neighborhood in Turnagain Arm that is part of the municipality of Anchorage.