Sen. Elton's Off the record

This week; two items:
A road to the future & a big fork in the road

The road to the future--a new Senate majority

     Sometimes you move forward by looking at the past. That's what the new Senate majority for the next legislature is doing by resurrecting a governance model last used 14 years ago.
     As most now know, the 25th Alaska State Legislature will be fundamentally different than the 24th legislature because the Senate will be led by a coalition of Republicans and Democrats. That last happened in 1992 when a bi-partisan coalition headed by Sen. Dick Eliason (R-Sitka) managed the flow of legislation in the upper body of the state legislature.
     Next January, a group of five or six Republicans and nine Democrats will assume the paramount challenge of commercializing our huge reserves of natural gas by building a pipeline. At the same time, this majority will do its best to make sure our schools function, our neighborhoods are safe, and that Alaskan families are sustained by a vibrant economy.
    Will governing by coalition be difficult? Sure. Is a coalition in the best interests of Alaskans? Bi-Partisan Absolutely.
    Of course a coalition is difficult. All members of the new coalition know that none of us will check our values at the door to participate. And, yes, sometimes the disagreements within the majority will be fundamental.
    But disagreements aren't a symptom of 'coalition governance' they are simply an outgrowth of the legislative process. In this past year for example, huge disagreements within the single-party Senate majority erupted over oil and gas taxes and provisions in the governor's draft gas pipeline contract. What makes any majority, single party or coalition, successful is how disagreements are handled.
    Our expectation is we keep the values we bring to the coalition and we respect and consider the values of others. That means we'll spend a lot more time in the middle of the political spectrum. And working in the middle is good for Alaska because that's where most Alaskans are. Most Alaskans don't want radical, they expect and deserve fair, open and honest government that first focuses on their needs and not the needs of a political party. We can move forward more easily by working in the 'Alaska comfort zone'.
    The coalition payoff for Alaskans is substantial. For the first time in my 12 years in the legislature, a working majority will not have as a primary legislative threshold the issue of partisanship. What is best for Democrats or what is best for Republicans comes in second to what is best for Alaska.
    This ought not be a radical notion. FDR noted decades ago that: "the future lies with those wise political leaders who realize the public is more interested in good government than good politics."
    That wisdom from the past, as well as the coalition model last used in the Senate 14 years ago, should be our guide for the next two years.

(Another) fork in the "access" road

I remember the good old days when we had a vociferous debate about a real road out of Juneau. The debate raged for more than a decade and half my friends wanted to drive to Skagway and the other half wanted better ferries.
Actually, most of us remember those good 'old' days because that debate on a road out of Juneau didn't die out until 2005 when the 65-mile, road-to-Skagway-plan morphed almost overnight into a 51-mile road to Katzehin with shuttle ferries to Haines and Skagway. Now, in the blink of an eye, the plan has morphed again. The new plan is:

shorten the road to 20 miles (terminating at Slate Cove where it meets up with the Kensington Mine access industrial road); and
back-off from a two-lane asphalt highway with guardrails and other safety features to an 18-foot-wide gravel bed safe enough for a 4WD Jeep or SUV traveling at 10 MPH.

    This is called, by the governor, a "pioneer road". There really is no official definition of a "pioneer road". The closest definition seems to be: 'build a road fit for a crawling Jeep and remember you're on your own hook to pay for it because the feds won't match a penny of what you spend on a road that can't meet federal standards.' One of the synonyms for "pioneer road" must be 'expensive' because none of the state dollars spent on this kind of a vehicle path can be applied toward federal match requirements for building a real road beyond Kensington or toward upgrading the "pioneer road" to federal standards.
    This latest manifestation of what now bears very little resemblance to a Juneau "access" project was unveiled by the governor after the November 7 general election. The outgoing governor prepared new road procurement documents that have a timeline that allows him to sign a contract before he leaves office but months before the feds will or will not issue the final permits that allow any construction. We may have to pay a penalty to the successful contractor who may not even be allowed to build the Jeep path if we don't get the final federal permit.
    That kind of impetuous behavior by the out-going governor is rude to the governor-elect and violates good public promise by locking out public comment on a whole new road access (and I use the term 'access' loosely) idea. In short, the governor is leaving everyone by the side of the road.

Just Ducky--During the snowstorm of last week (soon to be known as the big dump of ought six), some Juneau folks played it for quacks when they built a snow sculpture shaped like a lame duck across the street from the capitol.. A sign at the base said: "It's time to go Frank" but was taken down before the sun could even rise for the first time on the artful work.

Speaking of lame ducks--An Alaska journalist temporarily, we hope, relocated to D.C. and who goes by the name Dillon noted on his blog that the lame duck governor mailed a slick pamphlet entitled Gov. Frank Murkowski: A Record of Achievement, December 2, 2002-December 4, 2006. Dillon noted the governor must have thought the reminder (paid for by taxpayers) necessary after collecting just 17 percent of the Republican vote in the August primary and after two failed special sessions on the stranded gas tax and one on same-sex benefits.

Pension report--A new study by Boston College's Center for Retirement Research shows traditional pensions (like Alaska used to have before SB141 created a new pension plan for incoming public employees) earn better returns than 401(k) plans that are similar to our new tier IV retirement plan. The study looked at returns between 1988 and 2004 and found that traditional pension funds earned an average of 10.7 percent every year while 401(k) plans earned about a percent Monkey

less each year. That means if a new employee at the beginning of the study period began putting $200/month away and it was matched by the employer, by the end of the study period that 401(k) employee would be behind by about $20,000.

Going ape for the special session--Just after the last special session convened, the governor held a press conference and argued his administration had done its best to settle the partner benefits issue and it was time for another branch of government to step up. He put it this way: "Clearly, the monkey moves to the legislature."