Mark Begich in 2008 Alaska Senate Debate

On Principles & Values: Democrats advertise Stevens’ calls secretly recorded by FBI

A new attack ad from Democrats uses some of the FBI’s secret recordings that have been played at Stevens’ trial. “Worst that can happen to us is we run a bunch of legal fees and we might have to serve a little time in jail,“ said Stevens to former VECO CEO Bill Allen in a phone call recorded by the FBI.

At the Stevens’ headquarters, they aren’t too happy about the tone of the ad and are annoyed the Democrats are spending about $1 million here to get Stevens out of office. ”Alaskans are rejecting the ads,“ said a Stevens campaign spokesman. ”If Mark Begich wants to keep this about the issues, he would stand up to these groups and say pull them off the air.“

On Crime: Added $5M and 13 more police to Anchorage budget

The $435 million budget is almost $5 million less than originally proposed last year, but it’s still an increase to last year’s budget. $5 million in a $435 million dollar budget accounts for about 1%. While it’s a significant amount of money, it’s not a significant variation across the scope of the budget.

As the city grows, some say the police force needs to do the same. Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich said, “The taxpayers in this community are willing to pay for those type of services if they get results, and I think that’s what we’re delivering too.” Begich is delivering a 2009 city budget with 13 more police officers, adding to the city’s long-term goal of 93.

Throughout all the changes & adjustments made to the budget, for the past year Begich has repeatedly called for new public safety proposals

On Energy & Oil: Short term: $2.5B for LIHEAP; 70M bbl from strategic reserve

• add an extra $2.5 billion in funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program;
• clamp down on oil market speculators and price gouging by producers and distributors;
• release 70 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve;
• double tax credits for energy-efficiency home improvements and allow employers to create pre-tax flexible spending accounts for transportation costs.

On Energy & Oil: Long term: develop ANWR; build renewable energy plants

• open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to responsible oil and gas development;
• accelerate the sale of leases in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska;
• provide incentives for oil and gas federal lease holders to develop quickly and supply the Alaska natural gas line;
• create an loan fund to retrofit public buildings for energy efficiency;
• offer low-interest loans to public utilities for transition to more efficient and renewable power generation;
• build vocational education programs that train workers to construct, operate and maintain renewable energy generation plants and transmission systems.

On Principles & Values: Reputation as mayor for getting things done

On Aug. 26th Begich sailed through a primary election. Now all he has to do is defeat a man who will soon go on trial for failing to report gifts from oil companies and he will become Alaska’s first Democratic senator for 28 years.

40% of all Alaskans live in Anchorage, so Begich has a strong base of support. He also has a good surname: his father, Nick Begich, was a popular congressman who disappeared in 1972 while flying in a small plane.

Best of all, Begich is a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association and supports drilling in the ANWR. Woe betide any Alaskan politician who stands in the way of guns and oil.