Akidis: Sen. Huggins, Acting Senate President

I normally don’t like to post on Mondays, because I think Monday should be an extension of the weekend. But, I want to break protocol this week to talk again about Sen. Huggins. Something very telling happened in the Feb. 6 Senate Bipolar Working Group press conference. A reporter asked about the problem with the “culture” of receptions and free goodies that elected officials get when they come to Juneau. An awkward silence followed the question.

Two things:

1. Lyda Green should have answered this question. She did not. I did not realize it until I saw this moment, but when I did realize it, I felt stupid for not seeing it before. Lyda Green, president of the Senate, cannot lead. When the chips are down, and casualties are taken, how will she react? It’s a question for a shrink to answer.

2. The second thing I noticed was Charlie Huggins. Some of you were wondering in my last post on Sen. Huggins, why I said he had potential. When this question was asked in the press conference, the silence which followed it was obviously awkward. Sen. Huggins had the balls to break the silence and do what Sen. Green should have done. This is what he said:

I can only speak for myself. What transpires in Juneau is foreign to me and the culture that I am from…and people can make choices. And what I’ve seen as far as going down to the Baranoff and talking to people…the conversation and the people you meet there, the informal business you do: I think is productive in the long run. Is there room for critique? Sure, there’s room for critique! But, by and large it is within the mainstream of the culture that I am from, and the ethical piece of it, is that were not deceiving anyone. It’s open to the public. If you want to be there you can be there. Alaskans should understand that.

Well said, Sen. Huggins. This is why I believe he has potential. And this is why I am so hard on him. I know he is a Conservative, and I think he needs to surround himself with people who don't expect him to leave his personally held beliefs at home while he is in Juneau, no matter how "divisive" they may be. Leaving the philosophical issues, the ideological issues aside for a mainstream agenda is like trying to drive a sail boat without a rudder.