An Alaska icon comes under fire

As controversy swirls around Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens's financial conduct, state politics may enter a new era.

from the August 21, 2007 edition

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Others fret about damage to Alaska's reputation and economy, which depends on federal funding. During Stevens's tenure as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, the money gushed. Alaska now receives, per capita, more federal money than any other state, about double the national average.

Budget hawks accuse Stevens of frittering that cash on vanity boondoggles. But many of the "Stevens dollars" go to truly needy areas, or to widely lauded programs. And Alaskans apparently appreciate that work. Sign-waving supporters and standing ovations met the senator in Anchorage when he spoke at an Aug. 7 Rotary meeting.

"I am proud of the job I've been able to do in Washington working for you and with you every day, regardless of the slings and arrows that I face," he told the crowd.

Stevens, who is in his 80s, will eventually leave the political scene. And there will still be plenty of federal spending here, economists predict. Vast stretches of federal land and natural resources will need to be managed, military bases will continue to operate, and federal obligations to the state's Native people remain. But federal assistance to economic-development programs may dry up.

Meanwhile, the political climate is changing. Voters last year dumped incumbent Gov. Frank Murkowski, who came to the statehouse after 22 years in the Senate, for outsider Sarah Palin, a former small-town mayor known as a whistle-blower who clashed with leaders of her own Republican party.

The state has long abided by the slogan, "We don't care how they do it outside" – "outside" being any place that is not Alaska. But now, it must address national perceptions. "Alaskans had better grow up and be very responsible and prove ... that we can be contributors," says Governor Palin.

Former House minority leader Ethan Berkowitz, an Anchorage Democrat, echoes that notion. "We cannot continue to walk around with our hands out," he says.

Lawmakers this year worked with Palin to pass a wide-ranging ethics-reform bill. And Palin has ordered an October special session for a do-over of the oil tax. As for VECO, it's declared itself on the road to reform. Allen and Smith have resigned. The company has launched an external audit and is being sold to a larger firm, CH2M Hill.

Still, some of Alaska's workings are unchanged. Last month, Young took to the House floor to defend education funding he termed "my money." He was the guest of honor at "Don Young's Annual Pig Roast," a pricey fundraiser that went on as planned on Aug. 8, with alterations. The event was moved to the home of former Gov. Bill Sheffield because the host from previous years, VECO's now ex-CEO Bill Allen, was unavailable. And guests walked past a phalanx of protestors.

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