No-show leaves questions unanswered

Sen. Scott Ogan must have been feeling misunderstood. He called a press conference for Monday to explain why his relationship with Evergreen Resources and his chairmanship of the Senate Resources Committee does not represent a conflict of interest. Questions about the potential conflict, and about Ogan's priorities, have heated up since Evergreen announced it would consider natural gas extraction on some Valley private property. Ogan has served as a liaison between the resource development company and local citizens, collecting a paycheck for that work while also collecting compensation as a senator.

One significant player was not present at Ogan's Labor Day press conference. While at least three reporters and about 30 other citizens waited, Ogan was apparently busy catching up on chores around the house. He'd canceled the press conference because some media outlets complained about the holiday scheduling. Unfortunately, the cancellation notices didn't go out until Sunday, and many people didn't get the word.

What's perhaps most intriguing is that Ogan seems baffled at why people are upset with him over the mess. The inescapable impression one gets from the decision, and the way it was handled, is that Ogan believed the volume of his message was more important than the substance, and that he believed the larger, statewide media would provide a brighter stage. The problem is, the issue matters most in the Valley, where some landowners stand to suffer from surface work on their property to extract the subsurface resources. Those land owners are Ogan's constituents, and he owes them, not the larger media, his consideration.

Ogan's understanding of the media's role seems lacking as well. After learning some of his constituents showed up at the press conference, Ogan wondered if the press hadn't conspired to turn the press conference into something more. How people learned about the conference is anybody's guess, but the ultimate point is that the end result of any press conference is to disseminate information to the people. That's the role of the media. If some of Ogan's constituents showed up to hear their elected official discuss a critical issue, all the better.

In the end, what matters isn't that a few reporters and other citizens gave up part of their Labor Day. What matters is that, though Ogan's office sent out a press release after the cancellation, many questions still remain unanswered. What Evergreen, or some other development company does on private property is an important issue. Equally important is the role Ogan plays as both a representative and as a paid consultant to a company that may not have the best interests of landowners in mind.