It will be a nervous wait:
Governor is betting his political farm on gas deal, but it's our crop
adn.com
Published: October 30, 2005
Last Modified: October 30, 2005 at 05:05 AM
Being governor didn't go as planned the past week for Frank Murkowski. He had wanted big headlines, trumpeting a positive step forward in his long-running negotiations with North Slope producers for a natural gas pipeline to make Alaska rich. Instead, he stepped into a big pile of rancor within his ranks, heard criticism from his critics and watched as even the cooler heads among his supporters were shaking their heads.
He lost one of the key members of his gas line team after Natural Resources Commissioner Tom Irwin wrote a five-page memo questioning the legality and propriety of the governor's negotiating decisions. The governor and the commissioner mutually agreed it was time to part company.
The governor then watched as six of the commissioner's top staff members, including both deputy commissioners, resigned in protest. That's the entire top management of the department, and these were not mild-mannered resignations. "I adamantly disagree with the administration's current positions on gas line negotiations," said Oil and Gas Division Director Mark Myers, one of those who quit rather than toe the governor's gas line.
No one in the public knows all the details of the governor's negotiating positions. Though that's the way negotiations usually are handled -- whether union contract talks or multibillion-dollar corporate deals -- many Alaskans are getting nervous.
Meanwhile, the resignations -- which couldn't have been more embarrassing to the governor than if his political opponents had written the script -- have fueled even more speculation over what is going on behind closed doors. The administration is telling everyone to wait, the information will come after the deal is completed and ready for public comment and a legislative vote on the gas line contract.
Gov. Murkowski's attorney general, David Marquez, in his response Thursday to Commissioner Irwin's memo, said the governor has full authority under the law and the state constitution to make negotiating decisions, to decide policy, and then to present the final product to the Legislature for ratification. If Commissioner Irwin doesn't like it, that's a policy call, not a legal call, the attorney general said.
We accept that the governor makes policy. And we accept that the governor has the full legal authority to put together whatever legislation he wants, and then lawmakers can choose to accept or reject the proposals. That's how the system works.
But that still leaves Alaskans wondering: Is the governor on the right path to negotiating a 35-year fiscal contract for state taxes and royalties -- and investment -- on a possible North Slope natural gas pipeline? Has he gone too far, does he want the project too much, has he put too many future dollars at risk by locking up too many tax and royalty provisions for too many years?
And he still hasn't answered the question: Why is he talking with the producers about changing oil taxes when it's a deal for a natural gas line? The more information he can release now, the more Alaskans will be willing to trust him.
Even if the final deal is good for Alaska, the turmoil leading up to the contract could so taint the public's trust that the Legislature votes down the contract. That would be worse than bad; it would be extremely costly to Alaska's future.
Gov. Murkowski is saying to trust him, that he knows what he is doing, and that he is doing it for the good of Alaska. While we acknowledge he has the responsibility to make the policy calls as governor, we hope he's right about this one. Alaskans will be wondering and worrying while they wait.
BOTTOM LINE: Trust is a precious commodity in politics, and the public's trust in the governor is wearing thin. |
