Public Campaign Action Fund - Ted Stevens

Institute Change

Katie Schlieper — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 15:06:35 -0500

Ray Metcalfe writes at the Alaska Report that the state is the victim of "institutionalized corruption" on the part of its legislators that has put money in the pockets of a few, at the expense of honest public servants. The Goodfellas poster mock-up is pretty funny.

Sen. Stevens Continues to Endear Himself

Katie Schlieper — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 14:11:20 -0500

More bad news for Senator Ted Stevens. The Anchorage Daily News is reporting that he set up an earmark to finance a real estate bailout for a longtime aid. The $1.6 million earmark to the SeaLife Center in Seward, Alaska was used to buy half a million in property from a former aide, Trevor McCabe.

Give and Bear It

Katie Schlieper — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 12:56:06 -0500

You think you have trouble getting Congress to pay attention to your problems? Try being a polar bear. Yeah, polar bears are cute and if a bear has the good fortune to be born in a Berlin zoo lots of teenage girls will line up to take his picture and purchase t-shirts bearing his likeness but for the average bear hunting seals in Alaska, the outlook is grim. And his congressional representation isn’t helping.

Opposing Forces

Katie Schlieper — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 15:51:56 -0500

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.

Pork on Parade

Katie Schlieper — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 13:12:39 -0500

Taxpayers for Common Sense just came out with tallies for the members of Congress who've collected the most earmarks and right near the top of the list are both Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) and Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA), both of whom are in the middle of corruption investigations.

A Crab in Every Coffer

Katie Schlieper — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 11:41:10 -0500

I am shocked -- shocked! -- to discover that concerns have been raised that an obscure earmark Alaska Rep. Don Young (R) inserted into a fishery regulation bill was designed to benefit three of his campaign contributors. Three fishing companies, Yardarm Knot, Blue Dutch, and Trident Seafoods may turn a handy profit off the earmark that gives them new crabbing rights in the Bering Sea.

Earmark if You Believe in Ferries

Katie Schlieper — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 11:20:43 -0500

A "bridge to nowhere" won't pass muster anymore, but a boat to nowhere? Hey, that's worth trying. Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK), perhaps attempting to distract attention from his other scandals, has stuck a $20 million earmark into defense spending legislation to fund a ferry that looks to benefit no one so much as his scandal-tainted friends and former staffers who have development interests in the area the ferry would serve (Roll Call, sub req.).

You're on Crooked Camera

Katie Schlieper — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 12:16:51 -0500

The Alaska bribery scandal makes the front page of the Washington Post today in a story that includes several colorful excerpts from the secret taping of VECO Chairman Bill Allen's conversations with Alaska legislators -- like this, uh, candid admission from convicted Rep. Pete Kott about working against a bill opposed by oil interests: "I had to cheat, steal, beg, borrow and lie. [...] Exxon's happy. BP's happy. I'll sell my soul to the devil."

Kohring Convicted

Katie Schlieper — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 14:35:26 -0500

The testimony of the man who bribed him has led to former Alaska Rep. Vic Kohring's conviction on three bribery charges. Bill Allen, the former CEO of VECO Corp. claims he bribed Kohring to ensure his support for a piece of legislation that would have brought millions of dollars in business to VECO.

Gone Fishin'

Katie Schlieper — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 16:26:15 -0500

Are legislators trying to buy influence with one another? TPMmuckraker picks up an NPR Marketplace story about a group of legislators traveling up to Alaska for fishing trips on the dime of lobbyist-backed non-profits with ties to embattled Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) and Bill Allen, the CEO of VECO whose admitted to trying to buy influence with legislators.