"He said, 'Oh, I have to go to the bathroom,' and I heard a 'kerplunk' and that was it."
That's how Rep. Max Gruenberg's widow, Kayla Epstein, described the last moments of Gruenberg's life to Alaska Dispatch News reporter Nathaniel Herz.
Gruenberg was everything you could ask for in a public official; in fact, he was everything you could ask for in a man. He was kind, compassionate and reasonable in all his dealings public and private. The best way I could think to describe him is as a jolly ol' guy. He was always happy and he always had a smile for you. Whenever I was in Juneau, regardless of how busy he was, he always had a few minutes for me.
His death comes just a day after the passing of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. While in Alaska Gruenberg's death was met with universal mourning and respect for our ultimate statesman, around the nation Scalia's demise was celebrated by many as a loss of a demon and an opportunity for President Obama to put another liberal justice on the Supreme Court.
That is clearly unacceptable no matter who has passed.
I was at work when I heard about Gruenberg's passing that Sunday. A co-worker, who is also a very good friend of mine, mentioned the news to me in passing, and I furiously tried to find confirmation via news sites and text message. When I finally did, my eyes instantly filled with tears.
After the surreal wore off, it occurred to me: We were all mourning this man's death, all of us. Republicans, Democrats, man, child, woman, old, young, it didn't matter, if you were in Alaska and knew Max Gruenberg at all, you were likely saying something nice about him and, at least in some small way, mourning his passing. In contrast, Scalia's passing inspired hate-filled posts all over social media.
It made me stop and think that night; I couldn't imagine anybody celebrating the death of Gruenberg. He and I had plenty of disagreements, even vehemently opposed beliefs. However, arguments always ended with a smile and a handshake. I could never wish him harm, nor would he wish it upon me.
That's the way it should be.
Rep. Gruenberg leaves behind a state that needs statesmen like him in the worst way. Alaska is yearning, in fact, begging for dynamic leadership in an era when we cannot find any leadership at all. This is a time when we are literally driving off the fiscal cliff and senators like Pete Kelly are focusing their attention on arming people on college campuses. Of course this is the same senator who came up with the brilliant idea to put pregnancy tests in bar bathrooms; because, who doesn't suddenly find the epiphany of good decisions on a dive bar bathroom wall?
House Speaker Mike Chenault has bumbled his way through leading the Alaska State House so badly that he seemingly has no clue how the state is going to come out of the budget gap or even how the state budget works. He recently suggested the state sell land. Yes, sell land. Not only is that an asinine idea just on its face, it would require more state resources as the purchasers of the land would eventually want infrastructure such as roads, police and fire protection, water, electricity and other services.
Some state leaders, including Chenault and Kelly, have consistently said the state budget needs to be cut. They have not mentioned, however, that they were in the Legislature during the time when the budget was being increased. They all refuse to give any specific ideas on what should be cut or how much we could save in the state budget to fill the almost $4 billion dollar budget gap.
They are all running around trying to find other places to lay blame for a problem that they should have solved years ago. Something a true statesman like Rep. Gruenberg never would have done.
All of these problems aside, the fact remains that Alaska lost a true statesman, and a great man on Sunday; his family lost a great husband and father, and the men and women in the Legislature lost a good friend. Rest peacefully, Max.
Mike Dingman is a fifth-generation Alaskan born and raised in Anchorage. He is a former University of Alaska Anchorage student body president who has worked, studied and volunteered in Alaska politics since the late 90s. Email, michaeldingman@gmail.com.
The views expressed here are the writer's own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary@alaskadispatch.com. Send submissions shorter than 200 words to letters@alaskadispatch.com or click here to submit via any web browser.