Politics

Former U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) Killed in Plane Crash

By Sunlight Foundation & Participatory Politics Foundation

Former Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) was killed along with five other people in a plane crash last evening (NYT). A full roundup of news & blog coverage can be found at Memeorandum. He was the longest serving Republican Senator in history, serving from 1968 till 2008, when he was charged with failing to report gifts from a company in his home state of Alaska. Those charges were later dismissed.

Although he represented a state with a small population, Sen. Stevens had major political influence throughout his career.  Because of his work, he was named “Alaskan of the Century” in 2000 by the state legislature.  Below are some more resources on Senator Stevens’ Senate career.

Sen. Stevens’ OC Wiki biographical page summarizes major events that happen in his career, including his stances on the Iraq War, the oil industry, and network neutrality. Past OpenCongress blog coverage of Stevens included his conviction and Eric Holder’s later decision to drop the charges.

More info and links via our colleague Paul Blumenthal, researcher & blogger for our partner organization, the Sunlight Foundation. The Hill runs a substantive obituary piece titled In Senate, Stevens was force to be reckoned with. A worthy read.

This post by OC Research Assistants Jason Rhee and Hilary Worden.

Full post as published by Open Congress on August 11, 2010 (boomark / email).