Representative Mike Doogan continues to fascinate me.
His Amazing Ego™ aside, Mike seems to be completely unsuited for the position he currently holds.
When a friend of mine was in Juneau over the last few days, he happened to be standing in the hall of the Capitol within earshot when Doogan was chatting with a reporter from the Anchorage Daily News. Asked by said reporter (off the record, of course) about emails he'd received concerning the Mudflats "outing," Doogan responded,
--"I’ve read about 200 of the 600 emails I’ve received and they’re all women and people from out of state. That’s the Mudflats audience."
Huh.
Now, I can understand Doogan's lack of concern about people who are not Alaskans heaping their outrage on him.
But even if you ARE an Alaskan, if you're not from East Spenard, Mike doesn't give a damn WHAT you think!
This was underscored by the message he sent out to a number of people on Christmas eve, 2008 (though he only meant to send it to one recipient):
"Well, [name redacted], here's how representative democracy in Alaska works. There are five offices that answer to all Alaska voters: governor, lieutenant governor, U.S. Senator 1 and 2 and U.S. representative. Every other elected official in Alaska represents a smaller group. The mayor of Fairbanks represents Fairbanks, the representative from District 25 -- that's me -- represents District 25, and so on. I don't know what district you vote in -- since the voter registration records don't show you registered and voting anywhere in Alaska under any version of the name you claim -- but I assume its got a representative and senator and those are the people who represent you. I don't. So, aside from pestering me on the Internet, I don't really see what business you have with me."
Never mind the grammatical errors from one so proud of his MFA degree (and he's a Published Author! to boot). The arrogance in that response is breathtakingly stunning.
Judging by the recent hallway statement, Doogan also cares little about the opinions of women, even if they are from his district.
That's Doogan's attitude. I find it very disturbing, and here's why:
I know for a fact, that long ago, Mike Doogan worked as a legislative aide to the late State Representative Hugh Malone.
Yeah.... THAT Hugh Malone.
The guy who was one of the visionaries, one of the creators of the Permanent Fund.
The guy who was referred to as "the conscience of the Legislature."
The guy who was a tireless advocate of not only women's rights, but of basic human dignity.
The guy who was a firm believer in the right of everyone to be heard.
The guy who understood what striving for good public policy was all about.
The guy who fought tirelessly for ALL Alaskans, not just half-heartedly for the people from the district he represented.
Mike, I know that at one time, Hugh considered you a friend. I know that because of Hugh's selfless dedication to the public good, you were one of his admirers.
I also knew Hugh very well. He was a very close friend of mine.
Because of my friendship with him, I can say this without hesitation, Mike:
Hugh would be ashamed by your behavior lately.
His Amazing Ego™ aside, Mike seems to be completely unsuited for the position he currently holds.
When a friend of mine was in Juneau over the last few days, he happened to be standing in the hall of the Capitol within earshot when Doogan was chatting with a reporter from the Anchorage Daily News. Asked by said reporter (off the record, of course) about emails he'd received concerning the Mudflats "outing," Doogan responded,
--"I’ve read about 200 of the 600 emails I’ve received and they’re all women and people from out of state. That’s the Mudflats audience."
Huh.
Now, I can understand Doogan's lack of concern about people who are not Alaskans heaping their outrage on him.
But even if you ARE an Alaskan, if you're not from East Spenard, Mike doesn't give a damn WHAT you think!
This was underscored by the message he sent out to a number of people on Christmas eve, 2008 (though he only meant to send it to one recipient):
"Well, [name redacted], here's how representative democracy in Alaska works. There are five offices that answer to all Alaska voters: governor, lieutenant governor, U.S. Senator 1 and 2 and U.S. representative. Every other elected official in Alaska represents a smaller group. The mayor of Fairbanks represents Fairbanks, the representative from District 25 -- that's me -- represents District 25, and so on. I don't know what district you vote in -- since the voter registration records don't show you registered and voting anywhere in Alaska under any version of the name you claim -- but I assume its got a representative and senator and those are the people who represent you. I don't. So, aside from pestering me on the Internet, I don't really see what business you have with me."
Never mind the grammatical errors from one so proud of his MFA degree (and he's a Published Author! to boot). The arrogance in that response is breathtakingly stunning.
Judging by the recent hallway statement, Doogan also cares little about the opinions of women, even if they are from his district.
That's Doogan's attitude. I find it very disturbing, and here's why:
I know for a fact, that long ago, Mike Doogan worked as a legislative aide to the late State Representative Hugh Malone.
Yeah.... THAT Hugh Malone.
The guy who was one of the visionaries, one of the creators of the Permanent Fund.
The guy who was referred to as "the conscience of the Legislature."
The guy who was a tireless advocate of not only women's rights, but of basic human dignity.
The guy who was a firm believer in the right of everyone to be heard.
The guy who understood what striving for good public policy was all about.
The guy who fought tirelessly for ALL Alaskans, not just half-heartedly for the people from the district he represented.
Mike, I know that at one time, Hugh considered you a friend. I know that because of Hugh's selfless dedication to the public good, you were one of his admirers.
I also knew Hugh very well. He was a very close friend of mine.
Because of my friendship with him, I can say this without hesitation, Mike:
Hugh would be ashamed by your behavior lately.
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