Bill Stewart's "Golden Parachute"

On 8/2/06 the IBEW - backed board majority made long-time Chugach employee Bill Stewart the permanent CEO.  Since he was hired from within, there was absolutely no reason to give him a fixed three year contract which had the effect of giving him a costly "Golden Parachute" if he were to be terminated before the end of such contract.  In fact, most electric cooperative general managers and CEO's have no contract at all.  They serve at the pleasure of the board.

In response to an Anchorage Daily News editorial, on 4/7/08, former CEA director Bruce Davison made this blog post that the response by Ray Kreig points out is related to the award of Stewart's "Golden Parachute".

 April 7, 2008 - 6:18pm | bruce_davis

Right on

One might add that the current board members that fired the last fired the last CEO did so paying a very heavy buy out package because there was no cause identified. The current board members are carrying out their own labor agenda at great cost to CEA's long term health. It is a fact that labor for electrical utilities is high but that is a national reality. One has only to look at the heavy cost spent firing the last CEO to realize that it would be best to cut the losses now but getting rid of the self-serving board members that made that costly decision.

April 12, 2008 - 1:47pm | ray

IBEW "Reliability Group" lawyer silent on his own actions

This post by former Chugach board chair Bruce Davison who is also the lawyer and management committee member of the IBEW Union Front "Reliability Group" deserves scrutiny. He has left out some key facts: He himself voted to make Bill Stewart a permanent CEO on 8/2/06. He wrote Stewart's contract AND he included in that contract a totally unnecessary Golden Parachute for Stewart that created this potential $1/2 million termination cost. Stewart was hired from within, no such largess was justified. Now Davison bellyaches that the Reform Board (that is trying to clean up Davison's own mess) has to pay for that Golden Parachute. Well, on 3/19 the board changed Stewart's termination to "for cause" and under the contract Davison's Golden Parachute will not have to be paid. Even if it did have to be paid, it would have been worth it. The right CEO will save $millions for the ratepayers.

http://community.adn.com/adn/node/120841

Power struggle [Editorial]
Chugach candidates' sniping at one another is off the point
Anchorage Daily News: April 6th, 2008