The Good Old Days

Dougie had a bad cold this weekend and spent his time rummaging through his archives where he found some old pictures of our early days working for the Alaska State Legislature. Doug, his future wife, Alison, Eric, and I were all employed at various times and in various capacities by the Division of Legislative Finance then under the command of Mr. Jay Hogan. My first job - right out of University with a degree in Public Administration - was as a Page during a special legislative session.

Director of the Division of Legislative Finance, Jay Hogan (left) and Milt Barker, Budget Analyst. To the extent any REAL budget analysis occurred - Milt did it. The rest of us were bean-counters.

At that time (circa 1980) the legislature was a very different place than it is today. The legislature employed few personal staff. Members of the finance committees depended on the division for professional staff support and the legislature was a good deal less media savvy and obsessed than it is today. The heating-up of the Culture Wars was more than a decade in the future and "citizen legislator" was still a more-or-less accurate way to describe the typical member. Democrats actually ran things on a regular basis.

Of course many legislators then, as now, were flaming assholes; but their loathsomeness tended to be based more on their quirky old fashioned Alaskan personalities rather than the blatant partisanship of the modern era. I don't recall any Republican prayer breakfasts during this period. But I do recall (dimly) lots of late night bi-partisan boozing at the Baranof, Red Dog and other gin joints in which I was a most enthusiastic participant.

Nobody better exemplifies the "old" Alaska Legislature better than Representative Ernie Haugen of Petersburg. Ernie was a contemporary of my dad - in fact they both served in the Aleutians during WWII.

Representative Ernie Haugen (R) Petersburg

Ernie was the classic ol' time legislator- a hard-drinking Norwegian Republican curmudgeon who had fished forever out of Petersburg and served on the House Finance Committee for many years.

Ernie was very protective of the Department of Fish and Game and thought education was a good thing. Beyond that, he claimed he didn't have much use for government. Some Republicans used to actually believe this sort of thing.

I fondly recall the day in House Finance when he hurled a paper plate full of watermelon rind and seeds at the Chairman in his indignation at the threat by the Chair to put money in the budget to subsidize the Little Norway Festival in Petersburg. He was, of course, in his cups at the time.

Indeed, Ernie was usually blowing something well in excess of .08. You could set your watch by his daily trek to the men's room fifteen minutes before the 1:30 PM committee meeting. This regularity had nothing to do with his bowels; but was necessary in order to get a snoot-full in preparation for coming to grips with the affairs of State. We assumed he had a jug hidden in the back of one of the toilets. In his last few years in office he became less discreet - there was always a six pack of beer outside on the window ledge right next to his desk.

Ernie was a veritable fountain of colorful expressions which we collected into a book of "Haugenisms." A particularly egregious Democratic amendment would "make his hair hurt." Once, when asked by the press about a contentious late night budget hearing in the midst of a big Taku windstorm his only comment was "The wind blew, and the shit flew."

Ernie was fond of the Legislative Finance crew and we, in turn, adopted him as our mascot. Dougie christened him Ernesto "Che" Haugen. Ernie would often bring us Norwegian delicacies - he made the best damned pickled herring I've ever had. And pickled crab assholes.

My good friend Pat Williams, Administrative Assistant and general factotum to the division. Pat hired me. The job interview took place at Louie's Douglas Inn

"Wanna go to the Baranof?"

Sadly, I have very few pictures of these bygone days.