Alaska Dispatch

Three months into my campaign for governor, I am disappointed to see that the level of political discourse has already degraded into finger pointing and name calling. As a state facing a worrisome and uncertain future, our leaders must step forward and focus on constructive solutions to our problems.

Of growing concern is the number of candidates who seem intent on molding the news cycle into a ball of political mud. In particular, Ralph Samuels' outcry for a public lynching of Commissioner Tom Irwin is not only inappropriate, but manipulates the facts to meet a narrow political end.

For over 40 years the leaseholders refused to produce Point Thomson oil and gas resources. Acting within our legal rights, then-Director of Oil and Gas Mark Myers for Gov. Frank Murkowski required the unit operator to either commit to put the unit into production or forfeit the acreage for releasing. Commissioner Michael Menge affirmed that decision in the eleventh hour of the Murkowski Administration, and started the legal ball rolling. The recent ruling by Judge Sharon Gleason does not call into question the chain of events started by former Gov. Murkowski, the state's right to demand exploration, production, and marketing of its resources, or even its right to seek the leases be forfeited for non-development.

Rather, Judge Gleason's decision focuses on the procedure the state must follow under the Point Thomson Unit Agreement whose contractual terms in her opinion slightly alter the regulatory scheme for cancelation under Alaska law. She said nothing about whether or not the state should have taken the leases in the first place, only that the state missed steps in the termination process.

Director Myers' bold decision was a monumental step forward for Alaskans, and resulted in the unit operator for the first time agreeing to put one of our largest oil and gas fields into production.

Thus I not only think termination of the unit in 2005 was the right decision, I believe it was the only decision possible under the terms of the leases and the state constitution.  And in fact, as demonstrated by the attached letter sent to Director Myers before the termination process had been initiated, I have continuously demanded the state take that very course of action and fought hard to protect our rights.

This is not a defense of the process or multitude of steps followed during the course of termination of the unit by Director Myers, Commissioner Irwin, or the Department of Natural Resources, but rather a recognition that we should leave the interpretation of complex questions of law to the courts and not politicians more concerned with scoring points for outside interests than for the people of Alaska.

Leadership requires more than recognizing a problem -- it requires a solution. I am still the only candidate for governor with a plan to secure jobs, affordable energy and a guaranteed future for all Alaskans. With a long election in front of us, I issue the following challenge to my opponents: Stop the games, stop the grandstanding and start telling the hardworking men and women of Alaska exactly what you intend to do as governor to make our state better for all its people.

Bill Walker is a candidate for the Republican nomination for governor. Talk of the Tundra features commentary by Alaskans from across the state. The views expressed are the writers' own and are not endorsed by Alaska Dispatch. We welcome a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Name

Email

Title

Comment

Subscribe via email (registered users only)

Post