Anchorage Daily News

JUNEAU -- U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens on Tuesday brushed off the call of a conservative Republican state lawmaker that he retire instead of seeking re-election next year.

"I've had that happen two or three times in my career," Stevens said during the dedication Tuesday of a $51 million marine research center bearing his name.

"This is a free country," said the 83-year-old Stevens, the longest serving Republican in Senate history.

State Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Fairbanks, has urged both Stevens and U.S. Rep. Don Young, 74, to retire at the end of their current terms. Stevens has been in office since 1968; Young, also a Republican, has held office since 1973.

Stevens is under scrutiny for his relationship with oil field services contractor Bill Allen, who helped oversee a renovation project that more than doubled the size of the senator's Girdwood home in 2000. Allen's former company, Veco Inc., won tens of millions of dollars in federal contracts, and he has pleaded guilty to bribing Alaska state lawmakers.

Several news media outlets have reported that Young is under investigation for his relationship with Veco and his campaign finance practices. State-level politics also have been touched by the Veco inquiry; three former state lawmakers face corruption trials this fall.

Kelly first called for Stevens and Young to retire this week in a letter to the editor of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Kelly told The Associated Press he's concerned the party will suffer defeats next year as a backlash because of corruption investigations at the state and congressional level.

"We need enough time before 2008 to consider from 40,000 feet what healing actions are required so no one is hurt," Kelly said.

"I wanted to see if a taller dog would call for a slate of activities that would help restore voter trust and confidence. Nobody seemed to be heading down that trail, so I did it and carefully considered that it wouldn't be accusatory or contentious," he said.

A spokesman for Young on Tuesday had no comment.

The August recess is normally a time when congressmen make the rounds of their home states to tout projects and visit constituents.

But both Stevens and Young have been met with protests at almost every gathering. Some shouted "oink, oink" earlier this month at Young's annual pig roast campaign fundraiser in Anchorage.

At Tuesday's dedication ceremony, held hours before the public was allowed inside the Ted Stevens Marine Research Center for tours, protesters shouted and carried signs at the center's gates.

But they were kept well out of Stevens' sight and earshot.

Stevens breezed through the new 66,000-square-foot center with a constant curiosity about the new labs and offices at Lena Point, 17 miles north of Juneau.

The building, he says, reflects decades of his commitment to the industry, including laws under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, a 30-year-old law that guides fishery management in waters between three miles and 200 miles offshore.

It also represents his interest in the nation's development of the fishing industry and marine life, especially that of Alaska, which supplies half the nation's seafood.

Stevens touted the importance of the fisheries industry, saying that if managed properly it will outlive the petroleum and mining industries that also drive the state's economy.

State Rep. Andrea Doll, D-Juneau, who attended the ceremony, says Stevens' work for the fisheries industry is a huge boost for the state's capital, and that cannot be overlooked.

"The jury hasn't come back yet," she said metaphorically about the investigation. "I think we need to acknowledge him for the things he's done. Give the credit where it's due."

The FBI raid on his home and the federal investigation are off limits for Stevens.

"I'm not going to answer any questions at all into the investigation; that's out," he said.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Read Rep. Mike Kelly's call for Young and Stevens to retire in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner at

newsminer.com/2007/08/19/8469

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