Stevens presses Begich for clean campaign

ALASKA NEWSPAPERS
editor@alaskanewspapers.com

April 11, 2008 at 8:23AM AKST

Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich hasn’t announced he’ll run for U.S. Senate, but incumbent Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, is already asking him to wage an issue-focused campaign free of “smear tactics and attack politics."

Stevens made the request in a letter to Begich sent Thursday, according to a written statement and copy of the letter provided by the Stevens campaign.

“Alaskans deserve to have an election for senator that is about the issues facing our state and nation and who is best able to represent our state,” Stevens wrote in the letter.

The longtime Alaska senator asked Begich to request that the Alaska Democratic Party remove a Web site that “smears and distorts” Stevens’ record.

In the letter, Stevens also said he asked the National Republican Senatorial Committee on Thursday to kill a Web site that posted records of federal tax liens levied against Begich and a business he operated in the 1990s.

“I wanted to let you know that I have not authorized, approved, encouraged, suggested or otherwise played any role in that effort. I have asked the NRSC not to engage in these kinds of tactics,” Stevens wrote.

That Web site is Begich Baggage.com, the Stevens’ statement said. Paid for by NRSC, the Web site address is: www.begichbaggage.com. It was still up Friday morning.

The Alaska Democratic Party Web site attacking Stevens is www.retireted.com. It includes examples of friends, family members and former employees who allegedly benefited from Stevens’ power.

In the letter, Stevens asks Begich to join him “in asking, in advance, that outside, special groups not try to influence the outcome of the Senate race in Alaska using non-reportable campaign contributions."

Begich, son of former U.S. Rep. Nick Begich, was presumed dead when his plane dissapeared over the Gulf of Alaska in 1972, has formed an exploratory committee to weigh a run against Stevens.

Begich's exploratory committee issued its own written statement Thursday. Begich paid off those liens as quickly as he could, it said.

“I’ve started and operated small businesses for 30 years, with my first one at age 16. Like with all small businesses, some have been successful and some not, but I’ve always paid my taxes, made payroll to my employees and I believe everyone should pay their taxes.  Like many people who own struggling businesses, in both of these cases, we paid the taxes as soon as we were able to, which was within a few months of receiving the lien,” Begich said, according to the statement.

“I believe in full disclosure,” Begich went on to say.  “If I become a candidate for the Senate, I will release my past income tax statements to Alaska voters.  I think a candidate’s personal finances should be part of the public record.”