Stevens: no apologies

WASILLA -- What some came looking for at Wasilla's Multi-Use Sports Complex Wednesday evening never quite materialized, but the story may be headed in a new direction.

Wasilla Mayor Dianne Keller and Greater Wasilla Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Cheryl Metiva invited Sen. Ben Stevens, R-Anchorage, to speak at and tour the complex. They weren't looking for an apology, Keller said, only for a chance to show off their city.

"We wanted to invite Sen. Stevens to see the changes he has helped to make in the Valley and to have an opportunity to address our community with his own words," Keller said in a press release about the invitation.

The event was arranged, with Stevens to fly to the Valley, hop aboard a stretch Hummer limousine, and address the community for a few minutes, as his words were broadcast live on Valley Radio Q99.7.

Stevens addressed a small crowd -- a mix of 10-15 reporters and about 30 residents, but no apologies were made. Stevens said the comment that landed him in hot water was simply a nine-word response to a Wasilla woman who called into question his choice to work as a consultant for Veco.

The woman, identified as D.L. Mooney, a construction flagger, sent Stevens an anonymous e-mail in which she called Stevens a "whore."

Stevens said he was surprised, and responded quickly to the e-mail: "Afraid to sign your name? You're just more valley trash." He said he was even more surprised at the frenzy his comment caused.

"It's amazing, with that rate of communication, it's been broadcast and turned into a media fiasco," Stevens said. "I, in a moment of anger, responded back with nine words … The words I chose were the wrong words. It was unexpected that anyone would see that, except for that person."

Stevens assured those gathered that his comments were only intended for the then-anonymous e-mailer.

"I have to have confidence that people in the Valley know I was not classifying everybody in that nine-word sentence," Stevens said, "because I wasn't."