What Geese and Legislators Have in Common

Geese head south in the winter and north in the spring. Same same for most legislators.

Session is grinding to a halt (unless the governor extends it). Every legislator’s files are going into boxes, pictures are coming off the walls, computers and FAX machines are being packed, and everything is a humongous mess. There are almost as many boxes in the halls as lobbyists. Like geese, legislators, their staffs, and their voluminous piles of paperwork are heading back up north.

If you have a case in a file a legislator is working on, good luck. Basically, we’re out of business until after we get unpacked back home. It’s not just me, it’s every legislator in the building, except the three who inhabit Juneau.

In January 2006 it happens all over again, this time in reverse. Everything is packed up and it’s back to Juneau. The legislative geese go south again.

There’s something inherently wrong with this picture. It’s expensive and horribly inefficient. Since the majority of the legislators live in the Anchorage-Matsu area, that’s where the legislature should be. I hope I live long enough to see it happen.