Editor's note: Les Gara is an Alaska State House Representative. This commentary appeared in his legislative e-newsletter on May 2.

I’ve done my best these past two weeks to share what I learned as an attorney who started my career on a very contentious case -- representing the State in its civil prosecution of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill case.  Sticking your heels in the mud and drawing lines in the sand doesn’t end disputes -- this one’s over the budget.  We settled the state’s case with Exxon for $1 billion in 1991 -- though the major damages were suffered by individuals who brought their own cases -- and by not talking Exxon used its obstinance and power to drag that case out for two decades.

Two recent articles will explain where we are -- and the common sense solution proposed by the House Democrats, recounted in a recent Anchorage Daily News editorial.

Also -- Friday Representative Bill Stoltze, R-Chugiak, called the House Finance Committee up to Anchorage for an “invited testimony” only hearing -- and the invited folks were chosen to make the House Republican’s case against the bi-partisan Senate’s.  I and other democrats said the hearing could have been done in Juneau, where the witnesses were.  We also cautioned that calling select witnesses to criticize the Senate -- the party we’re supposed to be negotiating with - would just inflame tensions, not move the ball forward.

Here is the Daily News article on that hearing, and the solution I proposed -- again -- talking productively, not accusing the party we need to negotiate with of unsavory things.

And it doesn’t help that the Governor hasn’t been particularly engaged in joining the House and Senate so we can settle on needed energy projects to place in the budget.  This state is in great need of smart energy projects, including renewable energy projects, as fuel and energy prices rise.  And I believe we need to work to repair the Governor’s veto last year of $25 million in needed money for Alaska’s Renewable Energy Fund (which I worked with Sen. Hoffman in 2007 to add an additional $50 million to) so we can diversify our energy base, and get small communities off expensive diesel fuel.

So far the Governor won’t commit to go through the projects in the budget and indicate which ones he supports, and doesn’t -- which has helped lead to our stalemate -- some legislators would like to know that he won’t veto the better of the energy projects in the budget (projects to make the Railbelt energy system more efficient; and to build rural renewable energy projects).  I have questions about some of the projects in the budget, and it would help if everyone talked so we could weed those out, and pass an energy plan this state needs.

Finally -- if you’d like to make a life better, we still need mentors statewide for older foster youth (you’d volunteer much like a Big Brother/Sister), who often have no responsible adult in their lives to rely on for advice; and we still need late model laptops -- we’ve matched 43 youth so far, and want to keep that project going.  Attached is our press release, which has the contact information you need.

Les Gara, a Democratic state representive for Anchorage's 23rd District, was born in New York and came to Alaska in 1988 fresh from Harvard Law School to clerk for Alaska Supreme Court Justice Jay Rabinowitz. He was a state assistant Attorney General before entering private practice. Since 2003, he has served as a state representative. He has won a “Defender of Democracy Award” for his efforts to open government meetings and limit the influence of money and lobbying in politics.

The views expressed here are the writer's own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch. Alaska Dispatch welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, e-mail commentary(at)alaskadispatch.com.