FAIRBANKS -- It's a Tuesday afternoon, and Gov. Sarah Palin's gas pipeline bill -- a plan she believes will one day help feed the nation's domestic natural gas supply -- is about to get its first public debate.
The hearing room on the fifth floor in Juneau's Capitol building is packed with close to 40 people, standing room only with others peering through the open door, but there is a conspicuous absence: Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Tom Irwin.
"I kept my promise to my family," Irwin said when he returned the next week. "I took them on a vacation."
No one publicly questioned his absence, or his commitment to a multibillion-dollar project so big that North Slope oil and natural gas producers call it unprecedented in size and scope for its prospects of shipping 4.5 billion cubic feet of gas more than 3,000 miles daily.
Irwin could easily have stayed home in Fairbanks, enjoying the structure of a corporate job that would get him home in time to play video games with his teenage grandson or street hockey with his granddaughters.
Instead, he returned to a job from which he was fired 18 months ago by former Gov. Frank Murkowski after writing a memo that questioned a gas line plan that administration was seeking to adopt.
In coming back, he exchanged a private life for a high-profile position that will hold him, among a group of others on Palin's gas line team, accountable for a development deemed critical to the state's long-term economic future.
"I don't see it as taking a chance," Irwin said. "The job is only half done, so this is simply unfinished business. That's all.
"We've got to do it right in Alaska or we screw this state up and we won't want to stay here anyway."
He's a gregarious and devoutly religious man whose comfort in a public setting is seen when he discusses Palin's Alaska Gasline Inducement Act.
He's calm, mindful of other viewpoints, but still steadfast in touting the bill's mission, strenuously suggesting to lawmakers not to make substantive changes.
AGIA'S OBJECTIVES
Palin's bill, known as AGIA, is designed to stimulate competition for the right to build a pipeline that could deliver North Slope natural gas to Alaska and Lower 48 consumers.
It's also aimed at generating future exploration beyond the 35 trillion cubic feet of proven reserves in the North Slope.
When it comes to talking about himself, Irwin deftly deflects the discussion to subjects he deems more topical, be it colleagues or his family.
And he refuses to criticize or second-guess the man who fired him, preferring to remain grateful for the initial appointment to oversee the state's resource development.
But it was Irwin's Oct. 20, 2005, challenge to Murkowski's negotiations with North Slope producers that cost him his job.
Irwin sent a confidential memo to former Attorney General David W. Marquez, asking whether the state was conducting negotiations outside the law and to the long-term detriment of the state.
He highlighted concerns about favorable tax treatment for North Slope producers BP, Exxon Mobil Corp. and Conoco Phillips. Murkowski released the letter publicly and ultimately fired Irwin.
"We were nibbling at the ends, but Tom got right to the heart of (the) issue," said Rep. John Coghill, R-North Pole. "I mark Tom at the high end of those I hold most credible.
"I'll also stick up for Gov. Murkowski. He had the right to come over and say, 'Work on this issue or leave.' Tom said, 'You're giving up too much.' And he left."
STAFF MEMBERS GO TOO
What ensued, however, still leaves Irwin stunned. Seven days after he wrote the memo, six members of his staff walked, resigning in support of Irwin's position.
One of those was Marty K. Rutherford, a single mom ready to buy a new home, whom Irwin implored to stay with the department.
Rutherford playfully but emphatically reminded Irwin that, having been fired, he wasn't her boss anymore so he couldn't tell her what to do. Her decision, as well as those from the other five deputy commissioners, was final.
"It was a no-brainer to leave," said Rutherford, who also returned and serves as deputy commissioner. "We felt we had to step back from this deal and make a statement that it wasn't in the state's best interest."
The departures produced protests outside the governor's Anchorage office from citizens, some of whom identified the group as the "Magnificent Seven."
The mass resignation letters also put Irwin in stronger standing, said Sen. Gene Therriault, R-North Pole.
"It lent credibility that he wasn't just a rogue commissioner," Therriault said. "It was critical in getting the public's focus on what was happening.
"Until that point, the public thought something was being negotiated. It wasn't until he and six others took that step the public saw something of major importance was going on."
Irwin decided to take a few months off and enjoy the holidays with his family before looking for work.
Meanwhile, Palin had already announced her intent to run for governor and identified Irwin as a potential asset not only to her campaign but perhaps to her Cabinet. The two remained in touch regularly over the next year.
Palin's campaign moved toward a victory last November; Irwin accepted a job with Golden Valley Electric Association as its vice president for government and public affairs.
NOT READY YET
Palin made it clear during her campaign and after being sworn in that she wanted Irwin to return and finish the job. But Irwin wasn't ready, at least not yet. His wife Sharon had taken a fall, breaking her arm and shoulder, though she has completely recovered.
Additionally, his 8-year-old granddaughter Karli has undergone numerous surgeries on her digestive and urinary tract, and faces more.
"I thought I was tough, but she is really the tough one," Irwin said. "If you only knew how much she's endured."
So Rutherford returned as an interim commissioner, helping Palin jump-start AGIA and hoping to give her former boss more time to think about his comeback.
Palin persisted, saying she wasn't worried about another challenge to her authority or any efforts to undermine her plans.
"The questions he had asked, they were the right ones," Palin said. "Somebody had to ask them.
"I've made it very clear I don't want people who just say yes to me. I want those questions asked and answered to make sure we don't do things that aren't off base."
Nearly two months after Palin was sworn in, Irwin announced his intent to return on Feb. 2. Even Sharon Irwin said it was time for her husband to finish what he had started.
"We don't live a guarded life; we like to go out and play hard, do what the grandkids do," she said. "He just wants to make sure we are all going to be safe.
"What he's doing is important. I think he's a very gifted person in getting people to work together. That's a real plus for what he is trying to accomplish."
Irwin's focal point will be the gas line bill at least through the end of session. Most of his time gets spent in Juneau, but there are also trips to Bethel, Anchorage and, if he's lucky, back home to tout the plan.
A bill that ultimately leads to a gas line and future resource development could make his memo one of the most compelling documents yet, his supporters say. But Irwin isn't so sure.
"I don't want this to be a prideful thing," Irwin said. "There is a lot of work to do. I just see this as an investment in the state's future and in my grandkids' future."
