Early political career of Sarah Palin
Encyclopedia
Sarah Palin
was a member of the Wasilla, Alaska
city council from 1992 to 1996 and the city's mayor from 1996 to 2002. Wasilla is located 29 miles (47 km) north-east of the port of Anchorage, and is the largest population center in the Mat-Su Valley. At the conclusion of Palin's tenure as mayor in 2002, the city had about 6,300 residents, and it is now the fifth largest city in the state. Term limits prevented Palin from running for a third term as mayor. Throughout her early political career, Palin was a registered Republican.
of Wasilla, in 1992 and 1995. Wasilla city councillors serve three-year terms. Palin says she entered politics because she was concerned that revenue from a new Wasilla sales tax
would not be spent wisely.
Palin's first foray into politics was in 1992, when the then 28-year-old ran for Wasilla city council against John Hartrick, a local telephone company worker. She won 530 votes against John Hartrick’s 310. On the council, she successfully opposed a measure to curtail the hours at Wasilla's bars
by two hours. This surprised Hartrick because she was then a member of a church that advocated abstinence from alcohol
. After serving on the city council for three years, she ran for reelection against R’nita Rogers in 1995, winning 413 votes to Rogers' 185. Palin did not complete her second term on the city council because she ran for mayor
in 1996.
in the public library and did not think that it belonged there. Chase later became Palin's campaign manager for mayor in 1996, when Palin defeated John Stein, but Chase had a falling out with Palin and then became a vocal critic.
City of Wasilla Library records indicate that there was never a request for the library to remove the book and that no books were ever censored or banned. A New York Times article in 2008 mentioned the Daddy's Roommate episode, and intimated that the episode is relevant to accusations that Palin may be sympathetic to censorship. The Times article was subsequently criticized by the Times own ombudsman for presenting "confusing and incomplete" anecdotes about Palin.
The McCain-Palin campaign said that Palin was not advocating censorship
. Eventually, the Wasilla Library did remove the book in question, according to Kathy Martin-Albright who became library director in 2005: "The books were removed as part of ongoing collection development and not due to the subject matter presented in the books."
government, and the state government handles social services and environmental regulation, such as storm water management for building projects. Palin told the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman
newspaper that she could handle the job of Mayor even without assistance from veteran town officials: "It's not rocket science. It's $6 million and 53 employees."
for four years, and decided to run for mayor. She defeated three-term incumbent mayor John Stein
, running on a platform of "fresh ideas and energy". In the campaign, she vowed to replace "stale leadership" and criticized Stein for wasteful spending and high taxes. She also introduced campaign issues such as abortion, gun rights, and term limits into the race. Although the mayoral election was non-partisan, the state Republican party ran advertisements on her behalf. Palin did not brandish her religious views during that campaign, but she did play up her church work. A local cable TV program referred to Palin as Wasilla's first "Christian mayor," which prompted an objection from Stein who noted that he and several previous mayors were Christian.
Her first months in office were so rocky that there was talk of a recall attempt in 1997, which fizzled. Her recollection is that, "I grew tremendously in my early months as mayor." Despite the rocky start, Palin gained favor with Wasilla voters. She kept a jar with the names of Wasilla residents on her desk, and once a week she pulled a name from it and picked up the phone. She would ask: "How's the city doing?"
As mayor of Wasilla, Palin was in charge of the city Police Department, consisting of 25 officers and Chief of Police, Charlie Fannon. She is credited with strengthening the Police Department. Palin would later come into conflict with Fannon when he ran for political office using campaign ads containing a false endorsement from Palin. Palin actually supported another candidate, Curt Menard.
victims or their insurance companies for forensic medical examination necessary to gather evidence, which can cost $500 to $1200. A bill was proposed to require police departments to cover the cost of the exams and became law later the same year. Fannon responded to the new law by expressing concern about the cost of the rape kits, stating "In the past we've charged the cost of exams to the victim's insurance company when possible. I just don't want to see any more burden put on the taxpayer....Ultimately it is the criminal who should bear the burden of the added costs.".
The City of Wasilla Office of the Mayor reported searching records extending "back to the beginning of fiscal year 2000", and "found no record of sexual assault victims billed for forensic exams".
The Wasilla newspaper, The Frontiersman, conducted an e-mail interview with Palin, comprising fourteen questions:
Also in 2008, Palin's spokeswoman reiterated her response, adding, "Gov. Palin's position could not be more clear. To suggest otherwise is a deliberate misrepresentation of her commitment to supporting victims and bringing violent criminals to justice."
(ACLU) would get involved. In early December, Palin spoke publicly about the issue, using it as an example of a discussion she'd had with her department heads, stating that "many issues were discussed, both rhetorical and realistic in nature." Anne Kilkenny, a long-time registered Democrat and activist
who was at the meeting of October 28, on Palin's statement: "There's no way I thought it was rhetorical". Palin said that censorship "was discussed in the context of a professional question being asked in regards to library policy" and that she did not have a specific list of books in mind. "This is different than a normal book-selection procedure or a book-challenge policy," Emmons said. "She was asking me how I would deal with her saying a book can't be in the library."
Emmons stated that she supported the ability of people to challenge the selection and availability of library material according to a set of procedures previously established by the city of Wasilla. She also indicated that this discussion with Palin arose at a time when she was trying to help Wasilla's procedural policies become more similar to those established by the neighboring Mat-Su Borough which Emmons described as "a good process, and almost all public libraries have one." Emmons further said that she suspected that Palin might encourage a departure from those procedures. From 1986 to 2008, several books acquired by the Wasilla Public Library were challenged by various citizens as poor selections, such as a challenge to Heather Has Two Mommies
in 1997. None of the challenged books were opposed or removed by Palin.
Palin gave a signed letter to Emmons on January 30, 1997 stating: "I do not feel I have your full support in my efforts to govern the city of Wasilla. Therefore I intend to terminate your employment..." This was the same day that Palin gave a similar letter to Police Chief Stambaugh; Emmons as well as Stambaugh had publicly supported Palin's defeated mayoral opponent, John Stein.
Palin rescinded the firing of Emmons the next day after meeting with her and after what the Anchorage Daily News
called "a wave of public support for Emmons." Palin stated that her concerns had been alleviated, and that Emmons agreed to support Palin's plan to merge the town's library and museum operations.
that was enacted prior to her election, Palin was able to cut property tax
es by 75% and to eliminate personal property and business inventory taxes. She also secured funding for improvements to the roads and sewers. Palin reduced spending on the town museum and prevented building of a new library and city hall, while putting in bike paths, and she was able to get funding for storm-water treatment in order to protect the region's many lakes.
Palin wore a Buchanan button during a visit by presidential candidate Pat Buchanan
in 1999, but Palin was a co-chair on the Alaska campaign of rival presidential candidate Steve Forbes
in 2000. Shortly after wearing the Buchanan button, Palin responded to a newspaper article about it: "When presidential candidates visit our community, I am always happy to meet them. I’ll even put on their button when handed one as a polite gesture of respect....The article may have left your readers with the perception that I am endorsing this candidate, as opposed to welcoming his visit to Wasilla."
The property tax rate fell from 2 mil
s to .5 mils under Palin. The sales tax rate increased from 2 percent to 2.5 percent (and was changed to include everything, even food purchases), and that increase was approved by voter referendum to pay off the city’s new sports complex. Voters also approved a bond issue for road improvements.
According to PolitiFact, when Palin took office, she inherited a long-term city debt of just over a million dollars and that debt increased to about $25 million by the time she left office. The big-ticket items responsible for the debt were: $14.7 million for the new multi-use sports complex; $5.5 million for street projects; and $3 million for water improvement projects. Because of economic growth, Keller anticipates that Wasilla can stop charging the extra .5 percent sales tax two years sooner than expected.
lawsuit caused by a failure to obtain legal ownership of the property before beginning construction. In 2001, the judge hearing the initial property dispute had ruled for the city and the city's attorney advised the city to proceed with construction; subsequently the judge reversed himself and ruled that the city had never signed the proper papers.
CBS News obtained 86 pages of city council documents that show Palin sought to justify the tax increase to fund the sports complex in part because the private sector
had not stepped in to fill the gap. She writes that the ice rink offers an opportunity for government
to stop a social ill like drug abuse or juvenile delinquency before it starts.
for Wasilla. The effort was led by Steven Silver, a former chief of staff for Senator Ted Stevens
, and the firm secured nearly $27 million in earmarked funds for public and private entities in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, but only $7.95 million of that amount went to the Wasilla city government.
Earmarks from the firm included $500,000 for a youth shelter, $1.9 million for a transportation hub, $900,000 for sewer repairs, and $15 million for a rail project linking Wasilla and the ski resort community of Girdwood. Earmark requests from this firm were criticized by Senator John McCain on three occasions, but Palin was only involved in one of those three.
, Faye Palin, ran for the office but lost the election to Dianne Keller, who received Palin's endorsement. Faye Palin is a pro-choice Democrat. Keller is Republican.
in a five-way Republican primary. The Republican ticket of U.S. Senator Frank Murkowski
and Leman won the November 2002 election. When Murkowski resigned from his long-held U.S. Senate seat in December 2002 to become governor, he considered appointing Palin to replace him in the Senate, but chose his daughter, Lisa Murkowski
, who was then an Alaskan state representative.
Governor Murkowski appointed Palin to the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission
. She chaired the Commission beginning in 2003, serving as Ethics Supervisor. Palin resigned in January 2004, protesting what she called the "lack of ethics" of fellow Republican members.
After resigning, Palin filed a formal complaint against Oil and Gas Conservation Commissioner Randy Ruedrich, also the chair of the state Republican Party, accusing him of doing work for the party on public time and of working closely with a company he was supposed to be regulating. She also joined with Democratic legislator Eric Croft
to file a complaint against Gregg Renkes, a former Alaskan Attorney General
, accusing him of having a financial conflict of interest in negotiating a coal exporting trade agreement, while Renkes was the subject of investigation and after records suggesting a possible conflict of interest had been released to the public. Ruedrich and Renkes both resigned and Ruedrich paid a record $12,000 fine.
From 2003 to June 2005, Palin served as one of three directors of "Ted Stevens Excellence in Public Service, Inc.," a 527 group
designed to provide political training for Republican women in Alaska. In 2004, Palin told the Anchorage Daily News
that she had decided not to run for the U.S. Senate that year, against the Republican incumbent, Lisa Murkowski
, because her teenage son opposed it. Palin said, "How could I be the team mom if I was a U.S. Senator?"
Sarah Palin
Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...
was a member of the Wasilla, Alaska
Wasilla, Alaska
Wasilla is a city in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, United States and the sixth-largest city in Alaska. It is located on the northern point of Cook Inlet in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley of the southcentral part of the state. The city's population was 7,831 at the 2010 census...
city council from 1992 to 1996 and the city's mayor from 1996 to 2002. Wasilla is located 29 miles (47 km) north-east of the port of Anchorage, and is the largest population center in the Mat-Su Valley. At the conclusion of Palin's tenure as mayor in 2002, the city had about 6,300 residents, and it is now the fifth largest city in the state. Term limits prevented Palin from running for a third term as mayor. Throughout her early political career, Palin was a registered Republican.
City council of Wasilla
Palin was elected twice to the city councilCity council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
of Wasilla, in 1992 and 1995. Wasilla city councillors serve three-year terms. Palin says she entered politics because she was concerned that revenue from a new Wasilla sales tax
Sales tax
A sales tax is a tax, usually paid by the consumer at the point of purchase, itemized separately from the base price, for certain goods and services. The tax amount is usually calculated by applying a percentage rate to the taxable price of a sale....
would not be spent wisely.
Palin's first foray into politics was in 1992, when the then 28-year-old ran for Wasilla city council against John Hartrick, a local telephone company worker. She won 530 votes against John Hartrick’s 310. On the council, she successfully opposed a measure to curtail the hours at Wasilla's bars
Bar (establishment)
A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...
by two hours. This surprised Hartrick because she was then a member of a church that advocated abstinence from alcohol
Teetotalism
Teetotalism refers to either the practice of or the promotion of complete abstinence from alcoholic beverages. A person who practices teetotalism is called a teetotaler or is simply said to be teetotal...
. After serving on the city council for three years, she ran for reelection against R’nita Rogers in 1995, winning 413 votes to Rogers' 185. Palin did not complete her second term on the city council because she ran for mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
in 1996.
Remark about library book
According to Laura Chase of Wasilla, and former Wasilla mayor John Stein, Palin mentioned in 1995 that she saw the book Daddy's RoommateDaddy's Roommate
Daddy's Roommate is a children's book written by Michael Willhoite and published by Alyson Books in 1991 . The book, about a young boy whose divorced father now lives with his gay partner, deals with the controversial subject of homosexual parents.Daddy's Roommate was one of the first children's...
in the public library and did not think that it belonged there. Chase later became Palin's campaign manager for mayor in 1996, when Palin defeated John Stein, but Chase had a falling out with Palin and then became a vocal critic.
City of Wasilla Library records indicate that there was never a request for the library to remove the book and that no books were ever censored or banned. A New York Times article in 2008 mentioned the Daddy's Roommate episode, and intimated that the episode is relevant to accusations that Palin may be sympathetic to censorship. The Times article was subsequently criticized by the Times own ombudsman for presenting "confusing and incomplete" anecdotes about Palin.
The McCain-Palin campaign said that Palin was not advocating censorship
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
. Eventually, the Wasilla Library did remove the book in question, according to Kathy Martin-Albright who became library director in 2005: "The books were removed as part of ongoing collection development and not due to the subject matter presented in the books."
Duties of mayor
The duties of Wasilla's mayor are more circumscribed than those of many other mayors in the United States. The mayor of Wasilla supervises the police department, which was created three years before Palin took office, the public works department, the parks and recreation department, a planning office, a library and a small history museum. Firefighting and schools are handled by the Matanuska-Susitna BoroughMatanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska
-National protected areas:* Chugach National Forest * Denali National Park and Preserve ** Denali Wilderness * Lake Clark National Park and Preserve ** Lake Clark Wilderness -Demographics:...
government, and the state government handles social services and environmental regulation, such as storm water management for building projects. Palin told the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman
Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman
The Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman is a newspaper serving the Matanuska-Susitna Valley of Alaska. It is owned by Wick Communications, publishing every Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday...
newspaper that she could handle the job of Mayor even without assistance from veteran town officials: "It's not rocket science. It's $6 million and 53 employees."
Campaign for mayor in 1996
In 1996, Palin had been serving on the city councilCity council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
for four years, and decided to run for mayor. She defeated three-term incumbent mayor John Stein
John Stein (mayor)
John C. Stein, is a former American Republican later turned Democratic politician who served as the Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska from 1987 to 1996.- Early life and career :...
, running on a platform of "fresh ideas and energy". In the campaign, she vowed to replace "stale leadership" and criticized Stein for wasteful spending and high taxes. She also introduced campaign issues such as abortion, gun rights, and term limits into the race. Although the mayoral election was non-partisan, the state Republican party ran advertisements on her behalf. Palin did not brandish her religious views during that campaign, but she did play up her church work. A local cable TV program referred to Palin as Wasilla's first "Christian mayor," which prompted an objection from Stein who noted that he and several previous mayors were Christian.
First term as mayor
Upon taking office in October 1996, she began to make staffing changes. She eliminated the position of museum director and asked for updated resumes and resignation letters from Wasilla police chief Irl Stambaugh, public works director Jack Felton, finance director Duane Dvorak, and librarian Mary Ellen Emmons. She temporarily required department heads to get her approval before talking to reporters, stating they first needed to become better acquainted with her policies. As promised during her campaign, she reduced her own salary by 10%, from $68,000 to $61,200; she also reduced her workload by hiring a new City Administrator. By 1999, the City Council had raised her salary back to $68,000. In her first term, state Republican party leaders began grooming her for higher office.Her first months in office were so rocky that there was talk of a recall attempt in 1997, which fizzled. Her recollection is that, "I grew tremendously in my early months as mayor." Despite the rocky start, Palin gained favor with Wasilla voters. She kept a jar with the names of Wasilla residents on her desk, and once a week she pulled a name from it and picked up the phone. She would ask: "How's the city doing?"
Stambaugh's dismissal
Palin gave a signed letter to Police Chief Stambaugh on January 30, 1997 stating: "I do not feel I have your full support in my efforts to govern the city of Wasilla. Therefore I intend to terminate your employment." Palin spoke with Stambaugh at least three times about his continued service, but ultimately he was fired as planned. Stambaugh filed a lawsuit claiming discrimination and that his dismissal was politically motivated. The lawsuit was later dismissed by a court that found the mayor had the right to fire city employees for nearly any reason, including a political one, or for no reason at all and ordered Stambaugh to pay $22,000 of Palin's legal expenses.As mayor of Wasilla, Palin was in charge of the city Police Department, consisting of 25 officers and Chief of Police, Charlie Fannon. She is credited with strengthening the Police Department. Palin would later come into conflict with Fannon when he ran for political office using campaign ads containing a false endorsement from Palin. Palin actually supported another candidate, Curt Menard.
HB 270
In 2000, state legislators in Alaska learned that some police agencies were charging rapeRape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
victims or their insurance companies for forensic medical examination necessary to gather evidence, which can cost $500 to $1200. A bill was proposed to require police departments to cover the cost of the exams and became law later the same year. Fannon responded to the new law by expressing concern about the cost of the rape kits, stating "In the past we've charged the cost of exams to the victim's insurance company when possible. I just don't want to see any more burden put on the taxpayer....Ultimately it is the criminal who should bear the burden of the added costs.".
The City of Wasilla Office of the Mayor reported searching records extending "back to the beginning of fiscal year 2000", and "found no record of sexual assault victims billed for forensic exams".
The Wasilla newspaper, The Frontiersman, conducted an e-mail interview with Palin, comprising fourteen questions:
(Frontiersman)"6. During your tenure as mayor in 2000, then police chief Charlie Fannon commented in a May 23, 2000 Frontiersman article about legislation Gov. Tony Knowles signed protecting victims of sexual assault from being billed for rape kits collected by police as part of their investigations. Fannon revealed then that Knowles’ decision would cost Wasilla $5,000 to $14,000 a year, insinuating that the department’s policy was to bill victims for this testing. During your tenure as Mayor, what was the police department and city’s standard operating procedure in recovering costs of rape kits? Were any sexual assault victims ever charged for this testing while you were mayor?"
(Palin)"The entire notion of making a victim of a crime pay for anything is crazy. I do not believe, nor have I ever believed, that rape victims should have to pay for an evidence-gathering test. As governor, I worked in a variety of ways to tackle the problem of sexual assault and rape, including making domestic violence a priority of my administration."
Also in 2008, Palin's spokeswoman reiterated her response, adding, "Gov. Palin's position could not be more clear. To suggest otherwise is a deliberate misrepresentation of her commitment to supporting victims and bringing violent criminals to justice."
Library matters
According to librarian Mary Ellen Emmons, she and Palin discussed the question of library censorship on October 28, 1996. Emmons recalls Palin asking whether Emmons would object to censorship, and Palin raising the possibility of people circling the library in protest, to which Emmons replied that the American Civil Liberties UnionAmerican Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
(ACLU) would get involved. In early December, Palin spoke publicly about the issue, using it as an example of a discussion she'd had with her department heads, stating that "many issues were discussed, both rhetorical and realistic in nature." Anne Kilkenny, a long-time registered Democrat and activist
who was at the meeting of October 28, on Palin's statement: "There's no way I thought it was rhetorical". Palin said that censorship "was discussed in the context of a professional question being asked in regards to library policy" and that she did not have a specific list of books in mind. "This is different than a normal book-selection procedure or a book-challenge policy," Emmons said. "She was asking me how I would deal with her saying a book can't be in the library."
Emmons stated that she supported the ability of people to challenge the selection and availability of library material according to a set of procedures previously established by the city of Wasilla. She also indicated that this discussion with Palin arose at a time when she was trying to help Wasilla's procedural policies become more similar to those established by the neighboring Mat-Su Borough which Emmons described as "a good process, and almost all public libraries have one." Emmons further said that she suspected that Palin might encourage a departure from those procedures. From 1986 to 2008, several books acquired by the Wasilla Public Library were challenged by various citizens as poor selections, such as a challenge to Heather Has Two Mommies
Heather Has Two Mommies
Heather Has Two Mommies is a children's book written by Lesléa Newman with Diana Souza's illustrations, first published in 1989. It is about a child, Heather, raised by lesbian women: her biological mother, Jane, who gave birth to her after artificial insemination, and her biological mother's...
in 1997. None of the challenged books were opposed or removed by Palin.
Palin gave a signed letter to Emmons on January 30, 1997 stating: "I do not feel I have your full support in my efforts to govern the city of Wasilla. Therefore I intend to terminate your employment..." This was the same day that Palin gave a similar letter to Police Chief Stambaugh; Emmons as well as Stambaugh had publicly supported Palin's defeated mayoral opponent, John Stein.
Palin rescinded the firing of Emmons the next day after meeting with her and after what the Anchorage Daily News
Anchorage Daily News
The Anchorage Daily News is a daily newspaper based in Anchorage, Alaska, in the United States. It is often referred to colloquially as either "the Daily News" or "the ADN"...
called "a wave of public support for Emmons." Palin stated that her concerns had been alleviated, and that Emmons agreed to support Palin's plan to merge the town's library and museum operations.
Taxes and spending
Due to income generated by a 2% sales taxSales tax
A sales tax is a tax, usually paid by the consumer at the point of purchase, itemized separately from the base price, for certain goods and services. The tax amount is usually calculated by applying a percentage rate to the taxable price of a sale....
that was enacted prior to her election, Palin was able to cut property tax
Property tax
A property tax is an ad valorem levy on the value of property that the owner is required to pay. The tax is levied by the governing authority of the jurisdiction in which the property is located; it may be paid to a national government, a federated state or a municipality...
es by 75% and to eliminate personal property and business inventory taxes. She also secured funding for improvements to the roads and sewers. Palin reduced spending on the town museum and prevented building of a new library and city hall, while putting in bike paths, and she was able to get funding for storm-water treatment in order to protect the region's many lakes.
Campaign for reelection in 1999
Palin ran for re-election against Stein in 1999 and was returned to office by a margin of 909 to 292 votes. Palin was also elected president of the Alaska Conference of Mayors.Palin wore a Buchanan button during a visit by presidential candidate Pat Buchanan
Pat Buchanan
Patrick Joseph "Pat" Buchanan is an American paleoconservative political commentator, author, syndicated columnist, politician and broadcaster. Buchanan was a senior adviser to American Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan, and was an original host on CNN's Crossfire. He sought...
in 1999, but Palin was a co-chair on the Alaska campaign of rival presidential candidate Steve Forbes
Steve Forbes
Malcolm Stevenson "Steve" Forbes, Jr. is an American editor, publisher, and businessman. He is the editor-in-chief of business magazine Forbes as well as president and chief executive officer of its publisher, Forbes Inc. He was a Republican candidate in the U.S. Presidential primaries in 1996...
in 2000. Shortly after wearing the Buchanan button, Palin responded to a newspaper article about it: "When presidential candidates visit our community, I am always happy to meet them. I’ll even put on their button when handed one as a polite gesture of respect....The article may have left your readers with the perception that I am endorsing this candidate, as opposed to welcoming his visit to Wasilla."
Taxes, borrowing and spending
According to Dianne M. Keller, who served on the city council when Palin was mayor and would later serve as mayor herself, Wasilla’s budgets and tax receipts increased during Palin’s terms as mayor, but much of that increase was caused by growth of the city. In the last two years of Palin’s mayorship alone, Wasilla’s population grew by about 13 percent. According to Anne Kilkenny, during Palin's six years as mayor, general government expenditures increased by over 33 percent, while the amount of city taxes went up by 38 percent.The property tax rate fell from 2 mil
Mill (currency)
The mill or mille is a now-abstract unit of currency used sometimes in accounting. In the United States, it is a notional unit equivalent to of a United States dollar...
s to .5 mils under Palin. The sales tax rate increased from 2 percent to 2.5 percent (and was changed to include everything, even food purchases), and that increase was approved by voter referendum to pay off the city’s new sports complex. Voters also approved a bond issue for road improvements.
According to PolitiFact, when Palin took office, she inherited a long-term city debt of just over a million dollars and that debt increased to about $25 million by the time she left office. The big-ticket items responsible for the debt were: $14.7 million for the new multi-use sports complex; $5.5 million for street projects; and $3 million for water improvement projects. Because of economic growth, Keller anticipates that Wasilla can stop charging the extra .5 percent sales tax two years sooner than expected.
Sports complex
During her second term as mayor, Palin introduced a ballot measure proposing construction of a municipal sports center to be financed by the 0.5% sales tax increase. The $14.7 million Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center was built on time and under budget, but cost the city an additional $1.3 million due to an eminent domainEminent domain
Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...
lawsuit caused by a failure to obtain legal ownership of the property before beginning construction. In 2001, the judge hearing the initial property dispute had ruled for the city and the city's attorney advised the city to proceed with construction; subsequently the judge reversed himself and ruled that the city had never signed the proper papers.
CBS News obtained 86 pages of city council documents that show Palin sought to justify the tax increase to fund the sports complex in part because the private sector
Private sector
In economics, the private sector is that part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is run by private individuals or groups, usually as a means of enterprise for profit, and is not controlled by the state...
had not stepped in to fill the gap. She writes that the ice rink offers an opportunity for government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
to stop a social ill like drug abuse or juvenile delinquency before it starts.
Federal funding
During her second term, Palin joined with nearby communities in jointly hiring the Anchorage-based firm of Robertson, Monagle & Eastaugh to lobby for earmarksEarmark (politics)
In United States politics, an earmark is a legislative provision that directs approved funds to be spent on specific projects, or that directs specific exemptions from taxes or mandated fees...
for Wasilla. The effort was led by Steven Silver, a former chief of staff for Senator Ted Stevens
Ted Stevens
Theodore Fulton "Ted" Stevens, Sr. was a United States Senator from Alaska, serving from December 24, 1968, until January 3, 2009, and thus the longest-serving Republican senator in history...
, and the firm secured nearly $27 million in earmarked funds for public and private entities in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, but only $7.95 million of that amount went to the Wasilla city government.
Earmarks from the firm included $500,000 for a youth shelter, $1.9 million for a transportation hub, $900,000 for sewer repairs, and $15 million for a rail project linking Wasilla and the ski resort community of Girdwood. Earmark requests from this firm were criticized by Senator John McCain on three occasions, but Palin was only involved in one of those three.
Mayoral succession
In 2002, term limits prevented Palin from running for a third term as mayor. Palin's stepmother-in-lawIn-law
In-law may refer to:*Affinity , kinship by marriage, such as a**Mother-in-law**Father-in-law**Brother-in-law**Sister-in-law**Daughter-in-law**Son-in-law**Cousin-in-law**Uncle-in-law**Aunt-in-law**Nephew-in-law**Niece-in-law...
, Faye Palin, ran for the office but lost the election to Dianne Keller, who received Palin's endorsement. Faye Palin is a pro-choice Democrat. Keller is Republican.
Post-mayoral years
In 2002, Palin ran for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor, coming in second to Loren LemanLoren Leman
Loren Dwight Leman was the tenth Lieutenant Governor of Alaska, traces his family history in Alaska to a marriage in Kodiak more than 200 years ago between a Russian shipbuilder and an Alutiiq woman from Afognak...
in a five-way Republican primary. The Republican ticket of U.S. Senator Frank Murkowski
Frank Murkowski
Francis Hughes Murkowski is an American politician and a member of the Republican Party. He was a United States Senator from Alaska from 1981 until 2002 and the eighth Governor of Alaska from 2002 until 2006.- Early life and career :...
and Leman won the November 2002 election. When Murkowski resigned from his long-held U.S. Senate seat in December 2002 to become governor, he considered appointing Palin to replace him in the Senate, but chose his daughter, Lisa Murkowski
Lisa Murkowski
Lisa Ann Murkowski is the senior U.S. Senator from the State of Alaska and a member of the Republican Party. She was appointed to the Senate in 2002 by her father, Governor Frank Murkowski. After losing a Republican primary in 2010, she became the second person ever to win a U.S...
, who was then an Alaskan state representative.
Governor Murkowski appointed Palin to the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission
Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission
The Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission is a quasi-judicial agency in the U.S. state of Alaska, within Alaska's Department of Administration. It was originally established in 1955, was subsequently abolished, but was eventually reestablished...
. She chaired the Commission beginning in 2003, serving as Ethics Supervisor. Palin resigned in January 2004, protesting what she called the "lack of ethics" of fellow Republican members.
After resigning, Palin filed a formal complaint against Oil and Gas Conservation Commissioner Randy Ruedrich, also the chair of the state Republican Party, accusing him of doing work for the party on public time and of working closely with a company he was supposed to be regulating. She also joined with Democratic legislator Eric Croft
Eric Croft
Eric Croft was a Democratic State Representative from Anchorage, Alaska and was a candidate in the August 2006 Democratic gubernatorial primary election in Alaska...
to file a complaint against Gregg Renkes, a former Alaskan Attorney General
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
, accusing him of having a financial conflict of interest in negotiating a coal exporting trade agreement, while Renkes was the subject of investigation and after records suggesting a possible conflict of interest had been released to the public. Ruedrich and Renkes both resigned and Ruedrich paid a record $12,000 fine.
From 2003 to June 2005, Palin served as one of three directors of "Ted Stevens Excellence in Public Service, Inc.," a 527 group
527 group
A 527 organization or 527 group is a type of American tax-exempt organization named after "Section 527" of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code...
designed to provide political training for Republican women in Alaska. In 2004, Palin told the Anchorage Daily News
Anchorage Daily News
The Anchorage Daily News is a daily newspaper based in Anchorage, Alaska, in the United States. It is often referred to colloquially as either "the Daily News" or "the ADN"...
that she had decided not to run for the U.S. Senate that year, against the Republican incumbent, Lisa Murkowski
Lisa Murkowski
Lisa Ann Murkowski is the senior U.S. Senator from the State of Alaska and a member of the Republican Party. She was appointed to the Senate in 2002 by her father, Governor Frank Murkowski. After losing a Republican primary in 2010, she became the second person ever to win a U.S...
, because her teenage son opposed it. Palin said, "How could I be the team mom if I was a U.S. Senator?"
See also
- Governorship of Sarah PalinGovernorship of Sarah PalinIn 2006, Sarah Palin was elected governor of Alaska. Running on a clean-government platform, Palin defeated incumbent Governor Frank Murkowski in the Republican gubernatorial primary election in August. She then went on to win the general election in November, defeating former Governor Tony...
- Electoral history of Sarah PalinElectoral history of Sarah PalinElectoral history of Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska and Republican vice presidential nominee in the 2008 United States presidential election.-National elections:United States presidential election, 2008...
- Political positions of Sarah PalinPolitical positions of Sarah PalinSarah Palin has expressed her positions on a wide range of political issues during her career in the public eye.-Religion in public life:Despite attending a Pentecostal church which supported abstinence from alcohol, Palin, then on the Wasilla City Council, cast the deciding vote against...