Expenditure good for lobbyists, bad for Alaskans

May 3, 2005

Something unusual happened in Juneau last week. Not unusual bad. Just unusual. A pair of majority lawmakers in the state House raised questions about a piece of legislation currently awaiting the governor's signature.

This is not unusual in itself. Questioning legislation should always be part of what being an effective representative of the people is about. But it is unusual, in these times when partisan self-interest too often trumps sound public policy decisions, because the legislation in question was sponsored by a member of the majority and supported overwhelmingly by the majority caucus.

It is of further significance to Mat-Su residents because the bill's sponsor and its questioner represent districts in the Valley.

Longtime representative Vic Kohring introduced a proposal in January to continue state funding of Arctic Power, a lobbying group that has worked over the years to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas exploration. The proposal, House Bill 32, would send $1.2 million of public money to the group and increase total state funding of the organization to a level in excess of $10 million.

Rep. Carl Gatto, also a majority-party lawmaker from the Valley, is now asking some hard and long-overdue questions about the pending expenditure. He has teamed up with Juneau Rep. Bruce Weyhrauch, and the two have gone public with their misgivings about the legislation and use of taxpayers' money in this manner.

Their concerns are not about the actual drilling. Like most legislators - and most Alaskans - they favor responsible drilling and resource development in ANWR. They are concerned about things all lawmakers should be concerned about, but which seem to be in short supply with this issue: accountability and responsible state spending.

Arctic Power, Gatto and Weyhrauch say, is unable to present evidence of any substantial accomplishments over the years.

What the group can boast, however, is that it pays out a lot of money in salaries. In Anchorage, where almost no one needs to be convinced of the importance of opening ANWR, Arctic Power disburses $31,000 in monthly expenditures on three salaries and the lease of office space in Anchorage.

Of that amount, $7,500 pays the monthly salary of the group's executive director. Additionally, one of the group's Washington, D.C., lobbyists is paid $9,350 a month.

In the long battle to get drilling approved in the refuge, the political stars have never been better aligned. If federal approval of ANWR drilling can't be rounded up now, with all the right support in all the right places, it's hard to imagine it ever will be.

This is reason enough to reconsider funding a lobbying effort with public money. Factor in all the valid questions about what that $1.2 million is buying Alaskans, and it seems downright irresponsible to hand over the money.

Rep. Kohring has represented Mat-Su residents well over the years. He has made a distinguished legislative career for himself demanding responsible and accountable spending of public money. So his position on this issue is puzzling, at best.

We applaud Reps. Gatto and Weyhrauch for refusing to toe the partisan line on this issue and for standing up for what is right for all Alaskans.