Recall effort marks first for state

MAT-SU -- Senate District H residents are taking the initial steps in an effort to recall their senator, Scott Ogan. Division of Elections staff say it's the first time a recall effort has been launched against a legislator in Alaska.

Ogan's district stretches from Chugiak and Peters Creek through the communities of Butte and encompasses much of northern Mat-Su, from Big Lake up the road system to Trapper Creek and beyond. Last weekend, a group of constituents in the Lazy Mountain and Butte areas began the process to recall Ogan, citing a "lack of fitness to serve in public office, incompetence and neglect of duty," according to information from Ogan Is So Gone, a group seeking his recall.

"My issue is the betrayal I feel from a guy I voted for two times, who didn't protect my rights," said Dave Earl, a Butte resident who is one of several organizers of the recall effort. "I feel sold out."

Earl is one of three original sponsors of the recall effort, but he said public interest has generated a wave of support from people who normally stay out of the political arena. A North Slope engineer by trade, Earl said this is his first foray into politics.

"I don't have a political agenda and I don't have a history of any kind of activism," Earl said. "I think that shows how much this means to people in the Valley. We're getting support from everywhere."

Earl isn't advocating for a lease buyback or even a drilling moratorium, and said it's frustrating that all the issues are being balled into one.

The group, on its Web site www.oganissogone.org, cites actions by Ogan relating to his employment with Evergreen Resources Inc. -- alleged promotion of Evergreen in legislative committees and misstatement of facts among them -- as reasons he should be recalled.

Ogan resigned from his $40,000 a year consulting position with Evergreen in October, citing a perception among people he respected that he had a conflict which precluded him from fairly representing them. Ogan did not return a message left with his staff in Juneau seeking comment for this article. He has, in other interviews, noted that he drafted legislation to add protections for private property owners in shallow-gas leases.

Currently awaiting a hearing by the Senate Resources committee, chaired by Ogan, is Senate Bill 240, sponsored by Senate President Gene Therriault. The bill defines damages that a landowner may claim for "injury or interference with the owner's property by a person entering upon the land under the state reservation of oil, gas, mineral, material or related interests …," according to the bill title. The bill appears to be the only legislation currently in the mill aimed at adding protections for property owners whose land is being drilled for natural gas.

Naomi Nelson, an election coordinator with the Division of Elections, said as far as her office can remember, this is the first legislator recall effort in the state's history. Despite not being used previously, the recall process is spelled out in state statutes. To apply for the recall, the group must first gather 100 sponsor signatures from voters in Ogan's district. Then, signatures must be gathered from 10 percent of the people who voted in the district in the most recent general election. According to recall organizers, that number balances out to 1,019 signatures -- a quota recall effort organizers say they should have no problem reaching.

The group has set up "drive-through" petition signing stations to tap into people coming home at the end of the day who'd rather not get out of their cars to sign. One pull-off has been set up near the intersection of the Old Glenn Highway and Clark-Wolverine Road, a site name-gatherers say has been positive. Tuesday night, about 60 people had signed the petition in two hours, Bill Mohrwinkel said. Wednesday, they expected that number to reach nearly the same level. Other efforts are happening simultaneously, with volunteers going door-to-door to gather signatures and others supplying local businesses with signature books. Earl said the group doesn't have a firm count of the signatures yet.

"My gut feeling is, we won't have any trouble getting the signatures," Earl said.

But the process doesn't end with the collection of 1,019 signatures. Nelson said once the initial signatures have been collected, the division director has 30 days to review the petition and determine if the grounds for recall are sufficient. The director, Nelson said, will either deny the request or certify it. If certified, signature booklets are printed and the real signature-gathering effort begins. More than 2,500 signatures, or 25 percent of those who voted in Ogan's district in the last general election, must be gathered in order to bring the matter to a special election and allow voters to determine whether or not the recall moves forward. The division director has 30 days from the date the petitions and signatures are filed to review the signatures. If all the guidelines are met, a special election can be called to allow voters to determine whether Ogan should be recalled.

That, Nelson said, is where matters are further complicated. If voters decide in favor of a recall, the seat does not officially become vacant until the director has certified the election -- a process that can take 25 to 30 days. Depending on when everything falls into place, Nelson said, the vacant seat is either filled through governor appointment or by a special election.

Earl said he wasn't aware if the petition drive had been accelerated in an effort to make use of the small window of time available for a voter-elected replacement. He doesn't care, he said, if a replacement is chosen by the governor or by the voters, as long as there is a replacement.

"I just know I don't want him representing me," Earl said.