Cartoonist issues MEA culpa

CHUCK LEGGE/Valley Voices

May 6, 2007

I would like to use these few paragraphs to offer amends to the Matanuska Electric Association board of directors. I apologize for the snide, mean things I've written and drawn about you over the years. Please accept this meager offering in the spirit in which it was intended.

Remember the time, many years ago, I criticized you for your heavy-handed approach to labor relations? Those radical lefties of the I.B.E.W. wanted better working conditions and a decent wage for their members. You, the board, decided to put an end to this decency stuff and contracted cheaper, albeit less skilled, labor from outside.

I see now that you were just keeping an eye on the sacred bottom line. Unfortunately, the arbitration process has to look at both sides of an issue, and the ruling went against you. Some people just can't get past an innate sense of fairness.

How about the many bouts you have had with Michael Janecek. My favorite is when you tried to kick him off the board by asking him for hair samples to do a drug screen.

I know this Janecek character has always been a pain in your collective neck, and I apologize for always taking his side. While a member of your - oops - I mean &#8220our” board, he was a constant impediment by considering the interests of the co-op members. How do you reason with someone like that?

Personally, I don't think you wanted a hair sample to find evidence of drug use. I think you really just wanted to give that despicable hippie a haircut.

I do apologize for putting you in a negative light over these and many other issues. Most recently, I've been critical of your plans for a 100 megawatt coal-fired generator. What was I thinking?

To begin with, you worked out the plans for this coal burner behind closed doors. This just demonstrates your consideration for the 55,000 members of the co-op.

Most of us have busy lives. We have jobs to go to. We have bills to pay, kids to put through school, etc. What we don't need is something else to worry about. Thank you, MEA board, for not considering our opinion. It's nice to know you're looking out for us.

While we're on the topic of considering the opinions of co-op members, thanks for not including us in the decision to sever ties with Chugach Electric. You know, the folks we buy our energy from. Having to think about that would have really put a dent in my day. Thank you for the non-heads-up.

Of course, there are a few things that need to be worked out. There's the cost of building a new coal-burning plant and the penalties we will have to pay to pump more pollution into the atmosphere. The long- and short-term health risks, and so on. These may seem like problems, but I have faith in my MEA board of directors.

I'm sorry for all the past negativity, and I know from experience the board won't trouble us with these problems. I know we will not be included in the decision-making process. The board will just git-er-done, and let us know about it afterward.

Thank you, MEA board of directors, for all the things you do. Good job gang.

Chuck Legge is a free-lance editorial cartoonist whose work appears in every edition of the Frontiersman. His Valley Voices guest opinion column appears here every four weeks.