Is it possible that Dan Sullivan skipped Kindergarten? Apparently he has not learned to work and play well with others.

Sullivan's nine years on the Assembly included one year as chairman and three in charge of the group's budget committee. He was usually pro-development, pro-business, skilled at running meetings, and not infrequently on the losing end of 10-1 or 9-2 votes.

Now this is not just a case of partisan differences. A 10-1 vote does not break down along party lines, that means that Sullivan was the odd man out even when the rest of the Republicans wanted something passed. That kind of stubbornness is not admirable, it is pathetic, and demonstrates somebody who refuses to compromise which is the coin of the realm in politics.

Former colleagues divided across a political canyon when asked to evaluate his performance. Conservative Assembly members championed his skills.

"He'll have a good solid level of understanding and recognition that the Assembly and the mayor really need to work together," said South Anchorage Assemblyman Chris Birch, who was re-elected in 2008.

Understanding how the assembly works, and being able to work with it, are two different things. I believe this is called "damned with faint praise".

"I found him very easy to work with," Kendall said. "He has a very good sense of humor; even when the votes were 9-2 he could make fun of it."

Well great while he is laughing about his ineffectiveness, the people of Anchorage can watch as the mayor pisses away his term while "sticking to his guns".

Different story from the liberal end of the table. Former member Allan Tesche found Sullivan "extremely hard to work with.

"He worked with his own group in his own way, but in terms of ... the normal wheeling and dealing, it simply wasn't there," Tesche said.

So he was easy to work with as long as everybody agreed with him, but if not......

Former Assemblywoman Fay Von Gemmingen also remembers Sullivan as standoffish. "He seemed to be kind of a loner in my opinion," she said.

"One thing comes to mind, he does not work well with others."

It is very clear that Dan Sullivan would be a one term mayor, but Anchorage is going to be facing some very difficult challenges in the next four years. We simply cannot afford to have a man who brags about the fact that he stubbornly refuses to compromise. We need somebody who can get things done for the people of Anchorage, and that is clearly NOT Dan Sullivan.