by Natasha Rasheed
Saturday, Dec. 9, 2006
Anchorage, Alaska - Alaskans are still reeling after the news of state Rep. Tom Anderson's arrest and new details that continue to emerge.
"I think corruption in government has been a grave problem in Alaska for years," said Wev Shea, former assistant U.S. attorney.
Anderson was arraigned on seven federal charges yesterday, including bribery, extortion and money laundering.
Peggy Robinson ran against Anderson two years ago and is president of the Northeast Community Council. She says justice has been served. She says she ran against Anderson because she questioned his ethical practices. Robinson also brings up the example of the Muldoon Road Wal-Mart rezoning issue and the subsequent meetings, which Anderson never attended. But when Robinson was presenting the community council's side of things to the Anchorage Assembly, surprisingly Anderson showed up.
"And Tom got up, we again hadn't seen him for months and spoke in favor of the Wal-Mart rezone. And first people were kind of surprised, well why is he in contrast to where, at least the community council, vocal opposition? He was on opposite sides. He had introduced himself, though, as a lobbyist for the Homebuilders Association," said Robinson.
"I think it's a sad day for Alaska because we so want to have trust and faith in our elected officials. If, in the end here, it's been revealed that there's been any kind of ethical lapses again, Alaskans are going to be so disappointed, and that's a sad day for Alaska when things like this are revealed," said Gov. Sarah Palin.
The last time a sitting lawmaker was charged with a felony was in 1980 when Bethel state Rep. George Hohman was charged with bribery.
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