Public Power - November/December 2007 - (Page 15)

. . . with delegates to Northwest Public Power Association, along with Glenn English (center), CEO of National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, and Glenn Cannon (far right) of Waverly, Iowa. bipartisan efforts more difficult. Every vote on every issue is seen by members of Congress as a way to enhance or expand their party’s hold on Congress. Another interesting change is the way Congress characterizes legislation. I’ve been going back and looking at some of the energy legislation that I worked on early in my career— particularly President Carter’s energy legislation. Congress always declared its purpose in passing legislation 30 years ago. It’s very rare today. You look at the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and nowhere in it can you find a statement of purpose. Legislation seems to be much more detailed—it’s almost regulatory in nature in many ways, much less focused on specific goals. And instead of statements of purpose, Congress seems intent on attaching what I call “sound bite names” to legislation, and in many cases, the text of the legislation bears little resemblance to the name attached to it. Most guys who, like you, are very successful, play golf. I’ve never heard you talk about playing golf, you are a little countercultural—you ride a Harley motorcycle. How and why did you get interested in that? Golf is not my sport, not because I don’t like it, but because I’ve never made time to learn how to play without totally embarrassing myself. Yes, I did own two Harleys as well as a BMW motorcycle, and my wife is very glad that I no longer own any of those toys. with Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman and APPA Executive Committee members. 9 I don’t know why but I’ve loved motorcycles since I was a teenager. I had the same arguments with my parents about buying a motorcycle that I had with my wife. I purchased my first motorcycle when I was in law school and my parents didn’t know about it. I bought my first Harley in the mid-1990s and my wife didn’t know about it. I told her I wanted to buy a Harley and she said, “I don’t want to hear about it.” And I said, “Okay, you won’t.” She didn’t hear about it until I drove it home. Now that you’ve sold your motorcycles, what are you going to do? Maybe I’ll learn to play golf. Anything could happen. Until then, my recreational activities will include fishing, hiking, bicycle riding and skiing. These are all activities that are probably better for the body and easier on the ears than riding a Harley. 8 10 years later for another wonderful summer vacation. We went back a couple more times and Julie and I went back for a winter vacation in 2002. At that point, we just decided it would be a really nice place to live. The scenery there is beautiful. It’s an interesting little community rich in cultural events and opportunities. I grew up in a small town and I’m interested in going back to a small town for awhile. It’s got fishing and hiking and biking and all kinds of wonderful things to do. I will find other things to do. High on my list at present is volunteering for community work of some sort. As for continuing in some way my public power career, that might happen if interesting opportunities present themselves and I feel I can do something that will contribute to the industry. Right now, I’m totally focused on finishing my career here first. ❚ Now that you are retiring, you are leaving Washington, D.C., and moving to Idaho. Why Idaho and what will you be doing out there? In my work for public power I’ve been to or through 49 states, and in my opinion Idaho is one of the most beautiful. My first visit to Idaho occurred as a result of an APPA Advisory Committee meeting in Sun Valley late in the 1980s or early 90s. After the APPA meeting, my wife Julie and my sons, David and Peter, stayed there for a family vacation. We had a wonderful time. We went back a few NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2007 15 www.APPAnet.org http://www.APPAnet.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Public Power - November/December 2007

Public Power - November/December 2007 Contents Washington Focus 10 Questions Connecting with the Customer Through Automation AMR or AMI? The High Court’s Antitrust Thunderbolts California’s Push for Demand-Response Plug-In Partners Get Plugged In Wiring Up for Double-Digit Growth For Engineers Safety Community Broadband For Governing Boards DEED Customer Service Hometown Connections Index to Advertisers Parting shot

Public Power - November/December 2007

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