Ben Stevens recall gaining momentum

July 29, 2005

Spectrum\Ray Metcalfe

Corruption is killing the Alaska Dream, and it's soon going to take your dividend, and possibly your job, if you don't pay attention.

Twenty-five years ago, state Sen. George Hohman's fellow senators expelled him from the Alaska Senate, and an Alaska judge sentenced him to three years because someone claimed he said supporting a certain legislative proposal might be good for a thousand-dollar "campaign contribution."

Today, state Sen. Ben Stevens doesn't need "campaign contributions."

He's collected nearly $2 million in "consulting fees" from people hoping to benefit from his legislation.

Today, prosecutors ho-hum such indiscretions to death while our ethically bankrupt Senate leadership rewards Ben's behavior with the presidency of the Alaska Senate.

Nearly a quarter-million of Stevens' payments came from VECO, in exchange for services Stevens fails to define in his conflict of interest report, beyond saying they were "consulting fees."

If you find all this hard to believe, direct your browser to www.repmod.info/ and click on "Conflict of Interest Documentation." View the facts and decide.

In 1999, VECO supported a $350,000 campaign seeking voter permission to redirect Alaska Permanent Fund dividends to capital projects.

The vote was 83 percent "No." Since the 1999 vote, VECO has paid $400,000 to six lobbyists and $243,000 to Stevens, seeking ways to fund government from permanent fund earnings to thereby reduce public pressure for the Legislature to demand world market value for Alaska's oil.

VECO's interest in raiding the fund stems from its wish to sustain an endlessly increasing series of tax breaks, (tax breaks commonly referred to as economic limit factor), that the oil companies lobbied through many years ago. While oil company profits soar, ELF has cut Alaska's tax on oil in half.

ELF's tax breaks increase automatically every year. If not reversed, ELF's increases will soon cut our severance tax on North Slope oil to one-fourth of the original pre-pipeline agreement.

If labor leaders continue to ignore this issue, everything from patching potholes to competitive salaries for teachers and troopers will become impossible without taking away dividends and slapping the public with a very big tax.

Giving away Alaska's oil is not a winning formula for successful bargaining.

When Stevens was sworn into the Senate, he signed an oath, promising to uphold the Alaska Constitution. Alaska's constitution requires him to seek the highest possible payment for Alaska's resources.

Stevens then contracted his advice and loyalty to a company seeking to extract Alaska's resources for as little as possible.

Shortly thereafter, Stevens introduced a bill attempting to redirect $337 million from the permanent fund earnings account into capital projects. The earnings account has for 25 years been Alaska's piggybank for dividends.

Stevens argued that the cost would just be a few dollars per person, but do the math. Divide $337 million between 650,000 Alaskans. You'll come up with $518 for every man, woman and child in Alaska; and you can be sure they will extract more next year.

Contracting to advocate the position of two clients on matters of each client's mutually shared but conflicting interest is generally considered fraudulent and corrupt.

Due to the opposing objectives of such contracts, it is not possible for a single consultant to loyally advocate victory for both sides. "By necessity of law," one of any two such contracts was irrefutably signed in bad faith.

Stevens' failure to define what he actually does for his "consulting fees" violates Alaska's Conflict of Interest Disclosure Law (Sec 24.60.200), which requires legislators to provide the public with details sufficient to tell the reader what work was performed in exchange for payment received.

Alaska Criminal Law (Sec. 11.56.110) reads: "A public servant commits the crime of receiving a bribe if the public servant solicits a benefit with the intent that the public servant's vote, opinion, judgment, action, decision or exercise of discretion as a public servant will be influenced." Receiving a bribe is a felony.

If enough Alaskans do nothing while Sen. Stevens does VECO's bidding and raids the permanent fund, corruption will flourish, and Alaska's dividend distribution program will soon be history.

All you Valley folks are invited to drag out your "Valley Trash" T-Shirts and join us for a media event at noon on Aug. 4, as we, along with a coalition of "Citizens for Ethical Government," deliver a petition to the state Division of Elections, 2525 Gambell St., in Anchorage, to initiate the removal of Ben Stevens from his seat in the Alaska Senate.

Ray Metcalfe chairs the Republican Moderate Party. Find out more at www.republicanmoderates.com.