Brave people need to speak out

Spectrum, by bill Mohrwinkel

Now that we know that the Ogan recall has the proper number of valid signatures to move forward to the next stage and we await the decision of the independent counsel on the grounds, it is a good time to sit back and thank those citizens in District H -- leased and not leased -- who are stepping bravely into the political ring and are asking for new leadership through a recall. More than 2,100 people signed the petitions.

In some areas of Ogan's district, like Chugiak and the Butte, it's true, there are no CBM leases. But many people signed the recall anyway. They looked beyond personal political views on particular issues, examined the seriousness of what Ogan did to his own constituents and thousands of people in other districts, and finally decided that, stake or no stake, Ogan's conduct was unethical, unworthy of an Alaskan leader and just plain wrong.

You didn't have to be one of 12,396 property owners in the Mat-Su leased under Ogan's CBM darling to feel the outrage. Any fiscal conservative should be outraged by Scott's handiwork. The nearly 300,000 acres in the Mat-Su were leased for a grand total of $30,000 (not a misprint -- 60 leases x $500 each.) The Mat-Su Borough assesses the surface value of this property at more than $230 million over $800,000 in market value. Scott tells us now that it would cost $12 million to $15 million to buy the leases back. Another giveaway.

This recall is not about party politics. This is about character and judgment. Ogan simply was working for Evergreen, looking out for this company, to the people's detriment. Trouble is, we hired him first. He had a sworn duty to us.

And based on his newest CBM bill in the Legislature now, a self-serving attempt to cover his you-know-what, he's still working for Evergreen even now. His bill, Senate Bill 312 improves things for all future leases but leaves 300,000 acres under his Valley constituents' land exempt from the provisions of the new law and therefore totally unprotected. Thanks a lot Scott. Did you think we wouldn't notice the last page of your long bill? The part about the exemption for existing leases? Is this what you mean by correcting the mistakes of the past? Keep trying. How about a buyback instead.

I wonder who wrote SB 312 anyway, Ogan or Evergreen? Or is there really a difference? We will never know the answer to that question because we can no longer trust Ogan. He can't be trusted ever again to represent the people, to protect what is near and dear to us -- our land, our investment, our privacy, our water -- instead of looking out for the billion dollar companies that will give him lots of money.

That is why we are recalling him.

In a democracy, if our leaders are failing us, it is our duty to stand up and do something about it. That is what we are trying to do with this recall. We encourage everyone in District H to step into the ring in the next round of signature gathering, to join the coalition of property owners from all over the Valley to protect not only our property, but our political process itself. Let's bring back a system that's for the people by the people.

Bill Mohrwinkel is a Palmer resident.