A Citizen’s Guide

Ralph Seekins spent last year reviewing the Petroleum Production Tax as a senator in Juneau, but is on the sidelines for the debate this year after being voted out of office in November.

A few people seem to miss him.

Seekins came to the chamber board meeting today as a guest and spent a lot of time talking about taxes, particularly his belief that the PPT works fine as it is written and was not tainted by corruption.

He also mentioned, sort of cryptically, a conversation he recently had with the “un-named” CEO of an exploration company working in the Gulf of Mexico. This un-named CEO told Seekins that the special session here in Alaska has boosted business in the Gulf of Mexico, presumably because it makes the Gulf of Mexico seem like the more stable U.S. oil and gas option.