Politics 2000

Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens was convicted today on all seven counts he faced for filing false Senate documents in regard to $250,000 in free improvements made to his Anchorage home. Stevens faces a maximum of 35 years in prison–five years per count–but the 84-year-old senator likely will receive a much lighter sentence when he is sentenced next year. Stevens’s legal team will present a motion for a new trial in February.

Count one of the federal indictment against Stevens claimed that he deliberately tried to hide the gifts he received from an Alaska contractor, Bill Allen, and oil company VECO. Stevens continues to maintain his innocence and said he paid every bill he was presented, totaling $160,000. He said when he testified that he didn’t know about anything done for free. The remaining six counts dealt separately with each year Stevens was accused of filing a false report, spanning from 2001 to 2006.

Stevens is running for his seventh full team. His first full term started in January 1973. He was appointed to the Senate in 1968 after the incumbent died. In 1970, he won a special election to complete the original term. No Republican has served as long as “Uncle Ted,” as Stevens is called by many Alaskans. Few did as much as help Alaska become the 50th U.S. state in 1959. That’s why voters are having a difficult time this year.

Alaska is one of the reddest states in the nation; however, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich has led Stevens throughout the race. The Democrat has never been ahead by more than a few percentage points though. Stevens is well-known for ensuring Alaskans receive a lot of federal projects. The infamous “Bridge to Nowhere” is one example. Begich–or anyone else–would lack the decades of Washington insider knowledge Stevens has acquired. Should Stevens be re-elected, the Senate could vote to expel him next year, given the conviction today.

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