Alaska GOP chair survives ouster attempt

Alaska's Republican Party chairman survived an ouster attempt Saturday night as the state's GOP wrapped up its annual convention.

Just before adjournment, delegates voted 167-133 to table a resolution calling for Randy Ruedrich to resign — a resolution the chairman said he would have ignored.

"Based on the fact that you asked me to serve for four years last year, I will reject that resolution and plan to stay and work with all you folks," Ruedrich said as delegates cast votes.

Republicans including Gov. Sarah Palin have called for new leadership as part of a solution to sanitize a party tainted by the convictions last year of three former Republican state representatives.

Officials of VECO Corp., a former oil field services company, pleaded guilty to bribing two of them and also testified they paid former state Senate President Ben Stevens consulting fees of nearly a quarter million dollars for legislative work. Stevens has not been charged.

The home of his father, U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, was searched by the FBI and the IRS last summer in connection with renovations made under the supervision of Allen.

Jim Clark, the chief of staff for Palin's Republican predecessor, Frank Murkowski, this month pleaded guilty to fraud in a violation of state campaign finance laws.

Ruedrich, while a member of the Alaska Oil and Gas Commission, was fined $12,000 for engaging in partisan political activity while on the job. Despite that cloud, Republicans re-elected him as chairman in 2006, but some reform-minded party members have been pushing for his removal before his term ends in 2010.

Party officials earlier in the raucous last day of the convention said Ruedrich opponents had not gone through proper channels to seek his removal.