by Tim McKeever
On behalf of the Ted Stevens Foundation, November 18, 2023 will be the 100th Anniversary of the birth of Senator Ted Stevens.
Stevens was born in Indiana and grew up there and in California. He served in the U.S Army Air Corps during the second world war.
He came to Alaska in the early 1950s and began his long career of public service when he became the US Attorney in Fairbanks in 1954. He later worked in the United States Department of the Interior taking the lead in the Eisenhower administration on the battle for Alaska Statehood working with many other Alaskans.
In 1961 he left the Interior Department and returned to Alaska. He represented Anchorage in the Alaska House of Representatives and was chosen as Majority Leader in his second term. After Senator E. L. “Bob” Bartlett died in December of 1968, then Governor Walter J. Hickel appointed Ted Stevens to represent Alaska in the United States Senate. Ted Stevens went on to serve Alaska in that position for over 40 years.
When Stevens began as a Senator, Alaska had been a state for less than 10 years. The North Slope oil has only just been discovered. There was no Alyeska Pipeline, no Alaska Permanent Fund and no dividend program. The Alaska Railroad was owned by the federal government. There was no 200 mile limit and foreign fishing fleets were operating just off Alaska’s coast. There was no line television (Alaska TV stations recorded programs in Seattle and flew the tapes to Alaska where they were broadcast 2 weeks later.) The Federal Government has imposed a “land freeze” which prevented any development on federal land in Alaska. Conditions in rural Alaska were primitive with no phones, no health clinics and no running water.
During Ted Stevens’ service in the Senate, Alaska was transformed. The Alaska Native land claims were settled opening millions of acres of Alaska to private ownership and use. The Alaska Pipeline was approved by a narrow margin allowing North Slope oil to get to market. That project resulted in much needed energy for the nation and billions of dollars of income to the state funding the Permanent Fund and the dividend program.
Ted fought to pass the 200 mile limit eliminating foreign fishing and providing an innovative system to manage Alaska’s vast fisheries. He worked to allow the state to own the Alaska Railroad. His work resulted in dozens of health clinics and facilities across the state. He worked to improve aviation safety. He worked to improve the Alaska military bases and equipment. He obtained funding for new ports, airports, hospitals, and hundreds of other projects around the state. He was involved in every significant issue affecting Alaska and provided innovation and effective leadership to modernize the state.
He also was a national leader. He served as chairman of 5 major committees in the Senate. He was committed to enhancing our nation’s security and fought for better pay, better facilities and better equipment for the military. He was assistant leader of his party in the Senate and served as President Pro-Tem – the only Alaskan to fill an office described in the U.S. Constitution. He was a leader in updating laws relating to amateur sports and equal treatment for women in sport. And he was highly regarded for his work in many other important issues.
Ted is well known for his statement “To hell with politics, do what is right for Alaska.” And he lived by that creed. He would work with anyone without regard to politics. He maintained close relationships with colleagues from across the political spectrum to do what was right for his state and the country.
While Senator Stevens is no longer with us his legacy lives on. The 100th anniversary of his birth provides an opportunity for us to recognize his tremendous contribution to our state and nation.
Tim McKeever, Chair of the Ted Stevens Foundation.
