By Paddy Notar

My father was a City Councilman, Deputy Mayor, and City Council President in upstate New York. He loved to help and make a difference. I remember one night someone hit a utility pole and city crews were called out to fix the problem. It was the middle of February, 2:30 a.m. and minus 10 degrees. My father heard the call over the walkie-talkie; he insisted the public works commissioner give it to him so he could hear what was going on. He woke me up and asked me if I wanted to go with him to see what it's like to be involved in fixing a problem.

My father was good at showing his sons and daughter what it took to serve the public. We hit a 24-hour coffee shop before we arrived and showed up with donuts and coffee for the four guys replacing the utility pole. They were still picking up the debris from the wreck when we arrived. He told the guys how much he appreciated them working in such bad conditions and they appreciated the hot coffee and donuts. Quid pro quo in the old days and something you don't see any more—respect.

He knew everybody and, more importantly, everybody knew him. My father's first political advice to me was “Put people first.” Put them above party affiliation and political deals. Do what's best for everyone. It doesn't matter where the good ideas come from so long as they're tangible.”

His second piece of advice was, “Remember, when you run for public office, you become public property.”

The only reason I bring this up is because I believe Sen. Begich is the antithesis to my father's principles for public officials. Senator Begich is a man who grew up in a political world just like mine. His father was a Congressman who, unfortunately, died in a plane crash while running for re-election. Undoubtedly, it was tragic and I can't imagine how I would feel if it were my father.

Having said that, I still expect Sen. Begich to be a man for the people. But I just don't think he is. And here's why.

First of all, Sen. Begich ran for office for all of the wrong reasons. He wants to see his name in the newspaper. He used the word “I” when discussing the national healthcare bill 20 times, in a single interview, while Murkowski said it three times in an interview just as long. It's as if he loves to be in the public eye rather than serving the public will. I still can't get over him boasting about saving taxpayers $60,000 by changing the light bulbs at City Hall and never doing it. Then he went against the 80 percent of Alaskans who were not for Obama's healthcare plan, and most recently, saying he agreed with the nuclear disarmament treaty with Russia, without ever having read a single word of it. That, too, can be said of the healthcare bill.

My father was chastised from his fellow democrats for having the guts to say that the Republican mayor was the best man for the job, instead of running against him. When is the last time you heard someone from the other party say that?

Senator Begich would argue that I have distaste for democrats because of this, but that isn't true at all. I thought the Democratic Party was supposed to fix the problems left from the Bush era. Instead, they have masqueraded themselves into a bogus “We're helping you and we need to do this” type of rhetoric. It's the type of thing you'd expect some alien race to say before destroying your planet. It's as if the majority in power doesn't believe we can think for ourselves. It's really ridiculous.

Outside of office salaries, the average U.S. Senator has about $1.5 million annually to spend on general expenses. That's not including salaries for staff. Who wouldn't love to have an annual expense account of $1.5 million? My father spent $8 on donuts and coffee and paid for it out of his own pocket.

I think, in the end, that's why my father was more successful. He had a passion for making a difference. He loved to help everyone and was sincere about getting involved. If you had a better idea or argument, he'd say “thank you” and do his damndest to get things moving. My father was a true leader with one idea in mind—“Put people first.”

Senator Begich, on the other hand, is a great politician. And there lies the difference between a man who represents the people and a politician.