SESSION WAS SHORT, BUT SWEET?

Well, my fourth special session in not quite three years in the state House has come and gone, eating up about one work day on Monday. We dealt with the immediate fallout from former Gov. Sarah Palin’s odd departure and, with the exception of some grandstanding both inside the Egan Center and out, did a workmanlike job of it.

Here’s what happened.

MEET THE NEW LT. GOV

A lot like the old Lt. Gov. Craig Campbell, most recently the boss of the state Department of Military and Veteran’s Affairs, was approved as lieutenant governor by a vote of 55-4. (All votes were without Rep. Richard Foster of Nome, whose health prevented him from attending the session.)

The whole Campbell deal is a little strange. Up until Palin announced she was leaving, the guy who would have taken over as lieutenant governor was Joe Schmidt, the commissioner of Corrections. Suddenly, and without explanation, that was changed to Campbell. This generated some moonbat conspiracy theories, and some somewhat saner speculation that Campbell was being bumped up to enhance the Alaska Republican Party’s roster for the next election. But who knows what political shennanigans lurk in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows, but, unfortunately, he ain’t saying.

Anyway, Campbell’s appointment was the subject of a couple of unexceptional hearings, including one on Monday in front of the Senate State Affairs Committee. And while there were some complaints about his performance, they were sparse and unconvincing.

I voted to confirm him. I’ve known Campbell since the mid-1980s, when he was a member of the Anchorage Assembly. He was, and is, a very conservative fellow, a fan of making government as small as possible, including by farming out government functions to private companies. He’s also very conservative on social issues.

But he didn’t have to match my political ideas to get my vote. He had to have the governor’s support -- he does -- and to not have any disabling public or private peccadillos -- he doesn’t. In addition, I have found Campbell to be a thoughtful fellow and competent. And if he is slightly to the right of Genghis Khan, so be it.

Finally, the stakes are a little lower with Campbell. The law is that if Parnell should leave office before his term expires, Campbell’s main job would be to preside over an immediate special election to fill the governor’s office. So even if Campbell got to be governor, the job would be temporary.

SHOW US THE MONEY

The vote to accept $28 million-plus in stimulus funds for energy conservation projects was somewhat closer. Palin had vetoed the money. Parnell refused to change that. So the legislature needed a three-quarter vote -- 45 of the 60 members of the House and Senate -- to override Palin’s veto and accept the dough.

After a lot of talk, the legislature voted to override the veto 45-14. Not a vote to spare. The arguments against taking the money were that it would force Alaska to become part of the one-world conspiracy to require people to put sheet rock in their walls and that the $28 million would impoverish Alaskans for generations to come. For obvious reasons, those arguments were not compelling.

But there were at least some good fun. My favorite was that a bunch of people showed up to carry signs against taking the money and to shout at legislators as we made our way into the Egan Center for the vote. I’m not sure what genius came up with the idea that shouting at people is sound political strategy, although I did see Eddie Burke in the crowd, so you know a brain trust was involved.

Oh, yeah. If you’re keeping score, I voted to take the money and was happy to do it. I have contended all along that no real Alaskan would turn down free dough from Uncle Sam.

THE OTHER VETOES

In something of a surprise, there was an attempt to try to override other Palin vetoes. That attempt failed to win the 45 votes necessary. I voted against the override, just as I voted against the items originally when they were part of the capital budget.

WHAT’S COMING NEXT?

There’s talk about changing the executive ethics act to eliminate the filing of ethics complaints as a political weapon. That’s a good idea. And while we’re at it, I hope we do something about other changes needed to improve our ethics procedures, like those found in House Bill 195, sponsored by yours truly.

Fortunately, with Palin out of office, it looks like that can wait until we convene in regular session in January. There’s still legislative business to be done -- for example, the powerful Legislative Budget and Audit Committee, of which I am a powerful member, meets today -- but I’m sure we can do what needs to be done without all clumping up together. In addition to everything else, I’m really worried that if we meet again, people with signs will yell at me. And you know how easily my feelings get hurt.

Best wishes,