Turning the page on a new year means beginning what promises to be a busy 2008 politically for the Mat-Su Valley.

In addition to voting for a new president and making some tough decisions about Alaska’s congressional delegation, a normally hot political scene has the promise to go nuclear. On the launching pad first is the Matanuska Electric Association board election.

A pair of seats on the MEA board are up this year, those held by incumbents Lee Jordan, who’s also the group’s president, and Peter Burchell. Both have declared they’ll run for re-election at MEA’s annual meeting March 1. As of today, only Jordan has opposition, from Janet Kincaid, a local businesswoman and a vocal critic of MEA and its board.

Coming off a year filled with controversy and headlines, this upcoming board election will speak volumes about the public’s trust of the electric generation cooperative.

Throughout 2007, MEA dealt with vocal protests to its plans to build a coal-fired electric generation plant. The response to those protests was always the same: It was only a vocal minority stirring the pot, but overall MEA enjoyed strong member-owner support.

That strong support MEA espoused didn’t influence the Mat-Su Borough Assembly, which responded to the co-op’s plans by enacting new power generation regulations. MEA says those regulations, along with rising costs of coal generation, basically killed that part of its plan.

Those most vocal against MEA leadership, the groups Utility Watch and MEA Ratepayers Alliance, made one promise over and over in 2007: Wait until the next board election.

After the drama of the past 12 months, Kincaid has stepped up to challenge MEA Board President Jordan. Three-year board member Peter Burchell is also seeking re-election and is supporting Kincaid.

The rest of MEA’s board and management should pay careful attention March 1. The election for Jordan’s seat could send a broader message about how the co-op’s member-owners truly support, or not, the direction MEA has been following. It’s up to MEA’s member-owners to cast their ballots in the coming weeks and show, conclusively, how they want MEA officials to run their utility company.