Blog: Capital Focus
Lawmakers today wrapped up a two-day, 10-person round table discussion on TransCanada’s gas line plan, covering -- among other things -- fiscal stability, a potentially relevant episode of Seinfeld, and why the discussion was like playing strip poker with the major producers.
Generally speaking, lawmakers have been at this for 39 days, according to TransCanada’s Tony Palmer, so it’s no wonder that things got a little repetitive today -- many of the questions have been asked and answered at least once before.
About half the Legislature showed up for the hearing. Lawmakers typed on Blackberries, munched Twizzlers, and read the paper.
At times, things got tense. Revenue Commissioner Pat Galvin sparred with a consultant working for the Legislature, and lawmakers challenged Galvin, Palmer, and the big producers, sometimes personally.
But amid the repetition and tense moments, there were nuggets of humor and wit. When asked about the possibility of the producers buying out TransCanada’s stake in its pipeline project, Palmer (a pretty serious guy) replied that after the “fascinating experience” of the last five weeks, he had no interest in ceding his company’s project. Sen. Charlie Huggins, who is chairing the hearings, followed one lawmaker’s remarks with, “Thank you for those comments -- kinda.”
The strip poker analogy came from Rep. Mike Kelly, who was trying to show how the producers’ hardline talk was simply the start of commercial negotiations.
Despite the frustration I’m sure many participants felt, most kept their cool completely -- a quality, I suppose, of elected officials and public figures.
At the end of the roughly six-hour hearing, they all shook hands and joked, then skipped out for what was left of a rainy Saturday in Juneau.
Why doesn't Huggins, Stedman, and Samuels sit along side the producers? It would make it easier for them to whipser in their ear to know what to say....
I have tremendous respect for Palmer maintaining his integrity throughout this process.
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