Look over Dan Tucker's recent Compass piece (Friday, May 25) or his recent quotes in the paper and you will be lucky to find even a shred of truth to a single allegation.
Why is he so consistently bitter? Perhaps because Mr. Tucker applied for an interim appointment to the Matanuska Electric Association board of directors and was not chosen. Then he ran for the MEA board and was rejected by MEA members. That may explain why he has such an ax to grind.
If you go back and look at his negative tactics during his losing run for the board, you will note he claims the relationship between the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and MEA is bad and we all need Dan Tucker to fix it.
Not true.
MEA has a very solid relationship of mutual respect with both the leadership of the IBEW and our IBEW employees. The latest contract was agreed to after just three bargaining sessions and unanimously approved by the MEA Board of Directors.
MEA and the IBEW have only a handful of contract interpretation grievances pending -- the fewest in more than a decade.
The union and management cannot always agree, but the relationship is respectful and healthy.
Since Mr. Tucker learned that he was all wrong about that, what next? Apologies, anyone?
Not from Dan Tucker. Instead, he is leaping on a new horse: complaining about MEA's public process! He is wrong again.
For example, MEA invited the vice president of Usibelli Coal to talk about coal plants at our 2005 annual meeting. MEA holds open board meetings every month. MEA invited members to provide ideas for new generation at six public meetings in 2006.
Your MEA Board of Directors unanimously accepted the 30-year plan for new local generation proposed by CH2M Hill in September.
The plan included renewable energy sources in the future, but MEA's board added five megawatts to be part of the plan right away.
MEA held three more public meetings to answer questions about the plan. MEA advertised for six weeks soliciting potential generation sites.
MEA narrowed the options to five and then mailed an advisory ballot to 42,000 members so every single one who wanted to participate could vote -- something we believe no other co-op has ever done.
Finally, MEA held six more meetings to take member testimony about the site and on the same day posted the testimony on the Web at mea.coop.
When was the last time the Matanuska-Susitna Borough or the state Department of Transportation asked your opinion about where to put a school or a road?
Mr. Tucker accuses MEA of not having an open process. Nothing could satisfy Mr. Tucker but for him to get his personal revenge on MEA members and the administration for turning him down and voting to keep him off the board.
I think he could do more for his community if he would let go of his crippling negativity. He seems an otherwise able man.
MEA is proud of a very open public process and excited about the future of finally having local generation to serve the people of Eagle River and the Mat-Su. MEA is proud of our employees and honored to serve our members. Our goal: affordable and reliable electric power.
Tuckerman Babcock is MEA director of human resources and corporate affairs.
