The Valdez Star has published a piece on the e-mail under Speaker Mike Chenault’s name that refers to a proposal by Valdez Mayor Dave Cobb that had been sent to Governor Parnell. Chenault had received a copy of the proposal as a courtesy.
Chenault’s Chief of Staff Tom Wright inelegantly replied yo Valdez with the phrase “What a crock of shit.” Here’s where you can find the Star’s story on it.
In an apology to Valdez, Wright said he had meant to forward the e-mail to someone else but had accidentally hit the “Reply” button. He says this as if he believes it is an adequate apology; as if it’s perfectly okay to call your proposal a crock of shit to other people …as long as you don’t hear about it. He says he wanted the proposal to go to some of his peers, but he’s not specific about who or how many of those people were on his list.
However, it is clear that Chenault’s Chief of Staff doesn’t like the mayor’s proposal concerning the All-Alaska Gas Line. For several years, Wright has been one of the background sources of information on the plan to build a gasline from the North Slope to SouthCentral. He has also been what appeared to be the primary — sometimes heavy-handed — promoter in legislative offices to get support for HB4, the bill that would make the project possible.
Last year, the Senate refused to pass the equivalent of HB4, although an amended version was available. This year’s bill has a 279-word title that will make it difficult to amend.
I have not seen any personal response to the e-mail from Speaker Chenault.
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