Daily Sitka Sentinel - Stevens, Begich in Sitka; Trade Views

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Daily Sitka Sentinel - Stevens, Begich in Sitka; Trade Views

Facing his toughest election challenge in years, Sen. Ted Stevens said Sunday he has no intention of changing his gameplan as he hits the campaign trail this year.

By CRAIG GIAMMONA

Facing his toughest election challenge in years, Sen. Ted Stevens said Sunday he has no intention of changing his gameplan as he hits the campaign trail this year.

``I'm going to do the same things I've always done. I'll remind people what the problems are and how we've solved problems in the past,'' Stevens said Sunday in an interview with the Sentinel at the Totem Square Inn. ``I believe I have the experience and know-how to solve problems in the future.''

The 84-year-old Republican has been representing Alaska in the Senate since 1968, and is seeking his seventh full term in this year's election.

But the landscape is slightly different this year, with Stevens, an iconic figure in Alaskan politics, likely to face a well-financed and fairly well-known opponent in Mark Begich.

Both candidates face primary challenges in August, but expect to move on to a closely watched and tightly contested general election.

Begich, the 46-year-old mayor of Anchorage, was also in town Sunday. In his interview with the Sentinel he argued that Stevens' influence in Washington had diminished.

Wearing a pin that read ``Business as Usual,'' with a diagonal red line through the phrase, Begich said it was time for Alaska to send some new blood to the Senate.

``The day is going to change,'' Begich said when asked about this electability. ``The way business is being done back there (Washington, D.C.) is going to change and we have to change with it or we're going to be left behind.''

Stevens spent the last week traveling around Alaska -- he flew into Sitka for the day Sunday before returning to Juneau -- and returned to Washington, D.C., today.

Begich, whose second term as mayor of Alaska's largest city expires in 2009, has spent a good deal of time on the campaign trail since officially declaring his candidacy in late April.

Both men said that energy issues, specifically the price of gasoline and heating fuel, are first and foremost on the minds of Alaskans these days.

And they agreed that ANWR should be opened to oil companies and that more should be done to develop alternative sources of fuel.

Stevens also said he plans to work on legislation to regulate oil speculation, which he said has inflated the cost of gas at the pump 30-35 percent.

``We have to reduce using futures to those people who have an interest in using the oil,'' Stevens said. ``Not just traders who have an interest in pushing the price higher.''

But in his interview earlier in the day, Begich criticized Stevens for failing to rein in oil speculation during this time in the Senate.

The to and fro exchange carried over from earlier in the week when Stevens made the regulation of oil speculation a centerpiece of an energy plan he unveiled at a press conference in Anchorage.

Begich knocked the Senator that day and Stevens responded that his presumptive challenger was using talking points from Sen. Charles Schumer, the New York Democrat who is chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Schumer is credited with orchestrating the Democratic takeover of the Senate in 2006, when six Republican incumbents were defeated. The Senate breakdown stands at 49 to 49, with the edge to the Democrats provided by two independents in that party's caucus.

In his comments to the Sentinel, Stevens criticized Begich's ties to Schumer, who he pointed out is opposed to drilling in ANWR.

``The people supporting him from outside this state are primarily those who have financed the opposition to the development of this state,'' Stevens said.

He added: ``What good is it going to do Alaska to send someone down there (Washington) whose friends are all opposing ANWR.''

Stevens also used Begich's ties to the national party to position himself as somewhat of an underdog in the 2008 race. Stevens acknowledged that he could be outspent in the race, and said the money is coming from ``New York, New Jersey and California.''

He pointed out that there are 12 Senate seats held by Democrats up this election cycle, while the Republicans have to defend 23 seats this year.

Stevens said Schumer has been ``open and arrogant,'' about his plans to ``buy seats,'' in smaller states, including Alaska.

Begich, though, strongly denied that he is beholden to Schumer, or the national Democratic party. He pointed to gun rights and his support for drilling in ANWR as two key issues that set him apart from many Democrats Down South.

``They know I'm an Alaskan Democrat,'' Begich said, referring to the national pary. ``I'm Alaskan through and through.''

He added that the idea that Schumer runs his campaign is ``bogus.''

``People who have watched me in the Anchorage Assembly or as mayor know I operate on information, I work with folks.''

He also said that Stevens was raising the issue of Schumer's role in the race to avoid answering tough questions about his record.

``Everytime we challenge him on something, he says: `That's Chuck Schumer.' He uses it to divert from being held accountable for actions that have cost Alaska families millions of dollars,'' Begich said.

Both Begich and Stevens toured various locations and held public events in Sitka Sunday, apparently without crossing paths with each other.

Begich attended a barbecue at Pioneer Park, while Stevens went from his interview with the Sentinel to a scheduled meeting with constituents at the Sheet'ka Kwaan Naa Kahidi.

Half a dozen protesters with placards bearing anti-war and anti-corruption slogans were stationed outside the front door, but the Senator entered through the back.

The more than 20 people inside sat and listened to Stevens take questions for about an hour. He primarily talked about fisheries issues, but also addressed the status of the Sheldon Jackson College campus.

Stevens said he did not think any federal money was forthcoming to bail out the school. And with a nod to the revenue Alaska is generating because of the record price of oil, he said the state government would likely have to step up and figure what to do with the historic Lincoln Street campus.

Stevens added that he would like to see SJC become part of the University of Alaska system, but that this would likely not happen until SJC has ``cleared its debt.''

Stevens also said he did not think Congress would have a role in the ongoing battle over the allocation of the halibut catch between the commercial and charter fleets in Southeast Alaska. Stevens told the handful of commercial fishermen in the audience that the issue would have to be resolved through the regional councils that are already in place.

He did say that an overall catch limit should be set and that both sectors should be required to adhere to it.

Officially, it was not a campaign trip for Stevens and no fund-raisers were held. He did not address the war in Iraq during his public appearance, but told the Sentinel that the war had ``kept the terrorists away from our shore.''

``Those are the same people that were involved in our 9/11 terrible disasters in New York and Washington,'' Stevens said, adding: ``It's been worth the effort.''

Stevens also said that Iran should not be permitted to obtain nuclear weapons. Asked if that would require American military action, the senator responded: ``I don't know.''

``There are ways to eliminate the threat without going to war,'' Stevens said, mentioning the 1981 Israeli bombing raid that destroyed a nuclear installation in Iraq.

Both Stevens and Begich said Iraq, which dominated Congressional campaigns in 2006, had been pushed back by ``pocketbook issues,'' like the cost of gas, food and heating oil.

Begich said voters have turned their attention to veterans issues, because they are ``starting to realize we're going to get out of there.''

``They feel like we're going to get out of the war and they're worried about what's coming on the back end,'' Begich said.

While Begich and Stevens were eager to talk about Iraq and energy issues, they both spent time Sunday positioning themselves for what could be a bruising campaign. Stevens cast himself as an experienced senator who understands how Washington operates and can protect the state's interest, even as a member of the minority party.

``The Senate works on the contributions of those have experience solving past problems and use that experience to solve the problems that are coming in the future,'' Stevens said. ``It takes a long time to learn how to do that.''<

But Begich emphasized his belief that Alaska, and the country, are changing. He likened himself to Sen. Jim Webb, a Virginia Democrat elected in 2006, who he described as a ``new breed of senator'' who has managed to buck Washington's ``business as usual'' culture.

``The country is shifting dramatically, and Alaska has the potential to truly be a part of it, or we can be left behind,'' Begich said.

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