Senator Ben Stevens get dumped on for talking trash

Frontiersman editorial board

An angry e-mail exchange has landed Sen. Ben Stevens in hot water. A Valley woman, who recently sent the original e-mail anonymously, used the word "whore" to describe Stevens and other politicians who she said sell out their constituents to private interests for personal gain. In Stevens' response, he noted that the woman had chosen to remain anonymous, and wrote, "Afraid to sign your name? You're just more Valley trash." It's been the talk of the town around the Mat-Su since. Rep. Vic Kohring has taken up the defense of his constituents, calling Stevens' comments inappropriate and inaccurate. Kohring says Stevens owes the entire Valley an apology.

It's not the first time an elected official has lashed out in anger with words that he quickly regretted, and it won't be the last. In the interest of fairness, the woman could have chosen her words more carefully, too. Still, Stevens has been at this a long time, and he should know by now that a thick skin is an absolute prerequisite for survival in public office. He should have learned by now that he needs to choose his words carefully. Even Kohring admitted that he's taken some tough shots over the year, and that he's come close to losing his temper, but he said a public official simply can't afford to allow emotions to color public behavior.

Stevens should apologize to the people of the Valley. Anyone who's lived in this state as long as he knows the Mat-Su is home to a lot of good people.

The angry statement is another example of arrogance on the part of an Alaska legislator -- an arrogance that has begun to wear thin on all Alaskans.

Stevens is under fire right now for $300,000 in consulting fees he earned while serving in the Legislature last year. The companies that paid those fees to Stevens also contributed to his campaign war chest. It's a large dollar amount, but legislators earning "consulting fees" is old news to Alaskans by now. Some legislators in every state take advantage of their positions for personal gain. In many states, ethics rules force them to be discrete about it. There's no need for discretion in Alaska. Our legislators are on the payrolls of some serious Outside interests at the same time they're cashing their legislative paychecks. They chair and serve on committees that place them in positions that would be considered seriously conflicted in any other state, and legislative rules actually prevent them from recusing themselves from important votes on legislation that could be considered bought and paid for.

They do it out in the open, and they tell us it's for our own good. Maybe that's because we're just more Alaska trash. It's time to rewrite the Legislature's ethics rules, and to insist that our legislators earn the paychecks written by their constituents.