Thursday, November 4, 2010

US Midterms: Fallout?

I didn't comment much during the height of the US midterms, in part because I was far too entertained by the Alaska races to actually spend time writing about them.

In the final analysis, the results of two of the races stood a chance to affect Alaska Highway projects, and in both cases we seem to have the status quo: Sean Parnell is still Governor, and it looks likely that Lisa Murkowski will return to the US Senate (as of this writing, the write-in ballots have not yet been read, so there could be some controversy, but it looks like a strong finish for the incumbent).

In terms of getting a project underway as soon as possible, this was likely the best outcome we could hope for.  Parnell was appointed to replace Sarah Palin when she resigned as governor, and has stood in full support of her AGIA process, under which TransCanada Pipelines is the successful licensee.  Murkowski, at the federal level, has a strong role to play in making sure that the loan guarantees currently in place don't go anywhere, and in expediting the permitting process where she can.  Her experience with this file will be valuable in the next year.

AGIA opponents hounded Parnell during the campaign, insisting he press for the release of results from TCPL's open season earlier this year.  Evidently, he didn't see the need to do this, though there is some sense we'll see this by the end of the year.

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