With rumors circulating suggesting he may have traded legislative influence for personal favors and campaign contributions, Alaska's long-serving Senator Ted Stevens (R) will no doubt face a tougher-than-usual fight for re-election.  Certainly he's drawn an interesting opponent in Ray Metcalfe, a former state legislator who's declared his candidacy in the Democratic primary. Metcalfe made his name as a source for the FBI on the investigation into the VECO bribery scandal.

Metcalfe relishes his role as a "muckraker":

Metcalfe said he's put together a 1-inch thick packet alleging bribery and corruption throughout Alaska politics, not just involving the oil industry, but tourism and fishing. No one in Alaska would investigate his allegations. He said he sent the information to federal prosecutors.


"Eventually those packets found their way to the (U.S.) Office of Public Integrity, and I'm going to guess you know what happened next," Metcalfe said.


Metcalfe's campaign platform is simple: to clean up Alaska politics.


"Open, honest, ethical government is the number one ingredient missing from government today," Metcalfe said.


"The good old boy network virtually controls every industry in Alaska," he added. "I'm going to do everything I can to confront people in government until this practice stops."

Whether Metcalfe's allegations of corruption in Alaska turn out to have merit, it will be interesting to watch how the VECO scandal, suspicious about state legislators, Sen. Stevens, and Rep. Don Young, combined with Metcalfe's candidacy will serve to galvanize discussion about corruption in Alaska.    With a ballot initiatve on the table to offer a Clean Elections alternative to this kind of big money influence, perhaps Alaskans are ready for an overhaul.