Why I didn't vote for Ken Klunder …

A Spectrum, by William Folsom

Recently the Frontiersman published an opinion piece by W. Jim Sykes, criticizing the board of directors of Matanuska Electric Association for how we chose to fill a vacant seat on the board created by the resignation of an incumbent director.

Mr. Sykes has been a frequent critic of MEA, but his fascination with governance issues at the association is not easy to understand. You see, Mr. Sykes is not even a member of MEA and his home is not connected to our utility grid. Sykes recently told the Anchorage Daily News he would likely refuse service from MEA even if the electric lines were extended to run right past his front door. That's his choice, of course, but it does make me wonder whose interests Mr. Sykes actually represents when he trashes the elected leaders of our local electric utility. All MEA works for is reliable electric service at the lowest possible cost.

In his latest article, Sykes is distressed that the board did not appoint his preferred applicant, Mr. Ken Klunder, to fill the vacancy on the board.

The MEA directors chose one person from among three applicants for the vacancy. In addition to Mr. Klunder, applications were received from Mr. Aaron Downing, a former director at MTA in the early 1990s, and Ms. Kim Robinson, an employee in the Regulatory Affairs department at our sister cooperative, Matanuska Telephone Association. Of the six directors, four voted for Mr. Downing, and two voted for Ms. Robinson. Not a single director felt inspired to vote for Mr. Klunder, the candidate favored by Mr. Sykes.

I cannot speak for all the directors, but I am happy to address the issues I weighed when making my decision. I voted for Mr. Downing for the following reason:

1) Experience -- of the three applicants, Mr. Downing clearly had the most experience. He has worked for almost four decades in the electric utility industry and he has been employed by several of the largest electric utilities in Alaska. When he previously served on the MEA board in the early 1990s, he received director certification from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. I viewed Mr. Downing as someone who could provide an immediate benefit to the association, with no "on-the-job training" required.

I refused to vote for Mr. Klunder for the following reasons:

1) Responses to questions -- each applicant was asked to respond in writing to a series of questions about their vision of MEA. Both Mr. Downing and Ms. Robinson provided thoughtful responses about some of the challenging issues at MEA.

In stark contrast, Mr. Klunder's responses reflected a degree of cynicism and hostility toward your board and MEA in general.

Naturally, Mr. Klunder is entitled to his opinion, but his supporters should not be surprised that the current directors were reluctant to appoint someone who has an obvious axe to grind.

2) Integrity -- I am concerned about the way Mr. Klunder has conducted his previous unsuccessful campaigns to win a seat on the board of directors. For example, in a mailer sent out during his 2001 campaign, Mr. Klunder made claims that were simply not true. Klunder's mailer stated, "I was falsely criticized for being both a Democrat and an unsuccessful State House candidate. Neither was true. I'm a lifelong Republican and I haven't run for the House."

A simple check of the public files at the Alaska Public Offices Commission shows that Mr. Klunder was a candidate for the House in 1996 and also filed for (but later withdrew from) the 1998 House race. Previous public records I've reviewed from the Division of Elections indicate he was a Democrat prior to August 1994.

It disturbs me that a candidate would so blatantly try to mislead MEA's member-owners. It doesn't matter whether you're a Democrat, a Republican or whatever, but telling the truth does matter. We deserve better.

3) Playing by the rules -- I am also disturbed by Mr. Klunder's failure to comply with MEA's rules on campaign disclosure. There were serious, unresolved financial disclosure irregularities in his latest unsuccessful election attempt.

The bylaws approved by MEA's members impose strict financial reporting obligations on all candidates, regardless of whether they succeed in winning. A legal review of all candidates' disclosure reports by MEA's corporate attorney last spring revealed that Mr. Klunder's pre-election report was seriously flawed and that he also failed to file his post-election report by the required deadline.

The bottom line for me is that I will not support someone for the board who is apparently willing to make false statements and ignore the rules in order to get elected. But the part of Mr. Sykes' opinion article that bothers me the most is what he does not tell the members of MEA.

For example, he doesn't discuss the fact that MEA board and management have successfully worked together to reduce rates, even while other utilities in Alaska are raising their rates.

MEA members to save

$4 million in 2002

MEA is now a $56 million a year business. The board has reduced rates 11 times since the spring of 1996. The cumulative effect of these rate reductions will save MEA members almost $4 million next year alone.

We have also paid out more than $10 million in capital credits since 1996. We support a host of community organizations and provide generous scholarships to many deserving students each year.

All of this has been accomplished despite the fact that MEA has had to defend itself against constant attacks and criticism from a group of activists associated with or sympathetic to the IBEW. This cadre of malcontents has assaulted your cooperative with a sophisticated corporate campaign that includes strikes, a trumped-up effort to recall the board of directors, negative advertising in the local media and letter writing campaigns. They have also abused the legal and regulatory system by filing lawsuits and administrative complaints without merit, running up the association's legal fees (which they then criticize).

I advise anyone who has doubts about what is really happening to consider this -- MEA's directors receive a fee of $20 per meeting. When averaged out over the total time I spend on MEA business, this is considerably less than minimum wage.

Independent directors such as Mr. Downing are willing to take on this responsibility as a form of service to their cooperative and their community. We owe them our thanks.

The IBEW union leaders who are trying to take over the association's board with their expensive media campaigns and deceptive tactics must expect to get something back for all the money they are investing in the struggle. If they succeed, it will be MEA's members who are left holding the bill.

I trust that the majority of MEA members appreciate the work of those directors who have a proven track record of reducing their electric rates.

This year there will be elections for two seats on the MEA board of directors. I invite all interested MEA members to consider serving your electric cooperative. You can call MEA at 761-9216 for more information on how to apply.

William Folsom is president of the Matanuska Electric Association Board of Directors.