Todd Palin
Encyclopedia
Todd Mitchell Palin is the husband of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin
, the 2008 vice-presidential
nominee of the Republican Party. He is an American oil field production operator, commercial fisherman and champion snowmobile
racer, winning the Tesoro Iron Dog
race four times.
to James F. "Jim" and Blanche Palin (née Kallstrom).
His father, a native of Seattle, Washington, is a former general manager of Matanuska Electrical Association. His mother, a former secretary of the Alaska Federation of Natives, is one-quarter Yup'ik Eskimo, and his maternal grandmother, Helena (Bartman) Andree, is a member of the Curyung tribe. His paternal grandfather, Frederick William Palin, was born in Hartney, Manitoba
, Canada in February 1905.
In 1982, Palin graduated from Wasilla High School
, which is the same alma mater of his wife and their eldest two children, son Track and daughter Bristol
. He has taken some college courses but does not have a degree.
member and belonged to the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union (United Steelworkers
).
For eighteen years, he worked for BP
in the North Slope
oil fields of Alaska. In 2007, in order to avoid a conflict of interest that related to his wife's position as governor, he took a leave from his job as production supervisor, when his employer became involved in natural gas pipeline
negotiations with his wife's administration. Seven months later, because the family needed more income, Todd returned to BP. In order to avoid potential conflict of interest, this time, he accepted a non-management position as a production operator. He resigned from his job on September 18, 2009, with the stated reason as a desire to spend more time with his family.
He is also a commercial salmon
fisherman
at Bristol Bay on the Nushugak River.
. In late August 2008, The Politico
reported that Palin was registered to vote as an independent (undeclared), and had never registered as a Republican. In her memoir, Going Rogue: An American Life
, Sarah Palin confirms this, writing, "My husband... isn't registered with any party, for sound reasons, having been an eyewitness to the idiosyncrasies of party machines." Sarah Palin reaffirmed that Todd is not a registered Republican again in her February 6, 2010, keynote address to the national Tea Party
convention in Nashville, Tennessee
.
In February 2010, the state of Alaska released to msnbc.com reporter Bill Dedman
about 1,200 e-mails, which totalled 3,000 pages, that Palin exchanged with state officials. Almost 250 additional ones were withheld by the state, under a claim that executive privilege extends to Palin as an unpaid adviser to the government. Gregg Erickson, columnist for the Anchorage Daily News
, said, in September 2008, that Palin "obviously plays an important role… I've seen him in the governor's office and I know that she's conducted interviews in the governor's office with him present." The emails showed Palin discussing a wide range of activities: potential board appointees, constituent complaints, use of the state jet, oil and gas production, marine regulation, gas pipeline bids, wildfires, native Alaskan issues, the state effort to save the Matanuska Maid dairy, budget planning, potential budget vetoes, oil shale leasing, "strategy for responding to media allegations," staffing at the mansion, pier diem payments to the governor for travel, "strategy for responding to questions about pregnancy," potential cuts to the governor's staff, "confidentiality issues," Bureau of Land Management
land transfers and trespass issues and requests to the U.S. transportation secretary.
and basketball
.
He was a judge in the 2008 Miss Alaska
pageant.
, the world's longest snowmobile
race. and traces the path of the Iditarod
race with an extra journey of several hundred miles to Fairbanks
added.
Palin has competed in the Tesoro every year since 1993. His racing teammate is Scott Davis, with whom he won in 2007. He has previously raced with Dusty Van Meter in the race, and they were co-champions in 2000 and 2002. In 1995, Palin partnered with Dwayne Drake for his first win.
In 2008, 400 miles (643.7 km) from defending his Tesoro Iron Dog
championship, he was injured and broke his arm when he was thrown 70 feet from his machine. He was sent to the hospital but managed to finish in fourth place.
. The Palins have five children: Track Charles James (b. 1989), who has enlisted in the United States Army
and deployed to Iraq
on September 11, 2008; Bristol Sheeran Marie
(b. 1990); Willow Bianca Faye (b. 1994); Piper Indy Grace (b. 2001); and Trig Paxson Van (b. 2008), who has Down syndrome
; and two grandchildren: Tripp Easton Mitchell Johnston, born in 2008 in Palmer, Alaska
, to Bristol and Levi Johnston
and Kyla Grace Palin, who was born to son Track and his wife, Britta, in 2011.
Palin fishes and holds a Private Pilot Certificate. He also owns his own aircraft, a Piper PA-18 Super Cub.
Palin's stepmother, Faye Palin, ran unsuccessfully in 2002 for the position of Mayor for Wasilla, Alaska
, to succeed Palin's wife, Sarah, who was term-limited. Faye Palin, who is pro-choice
and a registered Democrat
, lost to Dianne M. Keller
, a candidate endorsed by Sarah Palin.
and the actions of Alaska State Trooper Mike Wooten. At one point, Todd Palin brought information prepared by himself and a private investigator to Monegan.
On September 12, 2008, the Alaska Legislature
subpoena
ed Palin to testify on his role in the controversy. On September 18, the McCain/Palin campaign announced that Todd Palin would refuse to testify because he does not believe the investigation is legitimate. State senator Bill Wielechowski said that the witnesses could not be punished for disobeying the subpoenas until the full legislature comes into session, then scheduled to be in January 2009.
On October 10, 2008, Palin was cited in special investigator Stephen Branchflower's report to the Legislative Council. One of Branchflower's four main findings was that Governor Palin violated Alaska's Ethics Act when she "wrongfully permitted Todd Palin to use the governor's office...to continue to contact subordinate state employees in an effort to find some way to get Trooper Wooten fired." Blanchflower also states: "Todd Palin is not an employee of the (Alaska) executive branch, so his conduct is not a violation of (the Ethics Act)." and " . . . I make no finding as to Mr. Palin's conduct.".
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...
, the 2008 vice-presidential
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
nominee of the Republican Party. He is an American oil field production operator, commercial fisherman and champion snowmobile
Snowmobile
A snowmobile, also known in some places as a snowmachine, or sled,is a land vehicle for winter travel on snow. Designed to be operated on snow and ice, they require no road or trail. Design variations enable some machines to operate in deep snow or forests; most are used on open terrain, including...
racer, winning the Tesoro Iron Dog
Tesoro Iron Dog
Iron Dog, originally known as the Iron Dog Gold Rush Classic and later the Tesoro Iron Dog, is an off-road snowmobile race across Alaska. It normally starts on a Sunday in mid-February. At , it is the longest snowmobile race in the world. The 2008 event featured a record forty teams competing for a...
race four times.
Early life
Palin was born and raised in Dillingham, AlaskaDillingham, Alaska
- Natural resources :Dillingham was once known as the Pacific salmon capital of the world and commercial fishing remains an important part of the local economy...
to James F. "Jim" and Blanche Palin (née Kallstrom).
His father, a native of Seattle, Washington, is a former general manager of Matanuska Electrical Association. His mother, a former secretary of the Alaska Federation of Natives, is one-quarter Yup'ik Eskimo, and his maternal grandmother, Helena (Bartman) Andree, is a member of the Curyung tribe. His paternal grandfather, Frederick William Palin, was born in Hartney, Manitoba
Hartney, Manitoba
Hartney, established as a town in 1882 in Cameron municipality along the Souris River, is a small town in the South-Western portion of the Canadian province of Manitoba, population 400 . It is named after the legendary Mr...
, Canada in February 1905.
In 1982, Palin graduated from Wasilla High School
Wasilla High School
Wasilla High School is a public secondary school in Wasilla, Alaska, United States, serving students in grades 9–12. The school became nationally known following then-Governor Sarah Palin's nomination as the Republican vice-presidential running mate to John McCain in the 2008 United States...
, which is the same alma mater of his wife and their eldest two children, son Track and daughter Bristol
Bristol Palin
Bristol Sheeran Marie Palin is the second child and oldest daughter of former Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin and her husband, Todd....
. He has taken some college courses but does not have a degree.
Career
Palin was a unionTrade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
member and belonged to the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union (United Steelworkers
United Steelworkers
The United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union is the largest industrial labor union in North America, with 705,000 members. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, U.S., the United Steelworkers represents workers in the United...
).
For eighteen years, he worked for BP
BP
BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...
in the North Slope
Alaska North Slope
The Alaska North Slope is the region of the U.S. state of Alaska located on the northern slope of the Brooks Range along the coast of two marginal seas of the Arctic Ocean, the Chukchi Sea being on the western side of Point Barrow, and the Beaufort Sea on the eastern.The region contains the...
oil fields of Alaska. In 2007, in order to avoid a conflict of interest that related to his wife's position as governor, he took a leave from his job as production supervisor, when his employer became involved in natural gas pipeline
Alaskan Natural Gas Pipeline
The Alaska gas pipeline is a proposal to transport natural gas from the Alaska North Slope natural gas reserves to the U.S. Midwest. The project is developed by TransCanada Corp. and ExxonMobil. TransCanada has secured state seed money and a license from the state of Alaska to build and operate a...
negotiations with his wife's administration. Seven months later, because the family needed more income, Todd returned to BP. In order to avoid potential conflict of interest, this time, he accepted a non-management position as a production operator. He resigned from his job on September 18, 2009, with the stated reason as a desire to spend more time with his family.
He is also a commercial salmon
Salmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
fisherman
Fisherman
A fisherman or fisher is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishermen and fish farmers. The term can also be applied to recreational fishermen and may be used to describe both men...
at Bristol Bay on the Nushugak River.
Voter registration
Palin first registered to vote in 1989. From October 1995 through July 2002, except for a few months in 2000, he was registered to vote as a member of the Alaskan Independence PartyAlaskan Independence Party
The Alaskan Independence Party is a political party in the U.S. state of Alaska that advocates an in-state referendum which includes the option of Alaska becoming an independent country...
. In late August 2008, The Politico
The Politico
The Politico is an American political journalism organization based in Arlington, Virginia, that distributes its content via television, the Internet, newspaper, and radio. Its coverage of Washington, D.C., includes the U.S. Congress, lobbying, media and the Presidency...
reported that Palin was registered to vote as an independent (undeclared), and had never registered as a Republican. In her memoir, Going Rogue: An American Life
Going Rogue: An American Life
Going Rogue: An American Life is a personal and political memoir of Sarah Palin, the former governor of Alaska and 2008 Republican candidate for U.S. Vice President. The book became a New York Times #1 bestseller in its first week of release, and remained there for six weeks...
, Sarah Palin confirms this, writing, "My husband... isn't registered with any party, for sound reasons, having been an eyewitness to the idiosyncrasies of party machines." Sarah Palin reaffirmed that Todd is not a registered Republican again in her February 6, 2010, keynote address to the national Tea Party
Tea Party movement
The Tea Party movement is an American populist political movement that is generally recognized as conservative and libertarian, and has sponsored protests and supported political candidates since 2009...
convention in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
.
Husband of the Governor of Alaska
Palin was First Gentleman (or "First Dude," as he was often nicknamed) for two and a half years. Early on in that role, he encouraged young Alaskans who could not afford college to consider jobs in the oil and gas industry as an effective training ground, and advised the Governor on workforce development issues for the natural gas pipeline she supported.In February 2010, the state of Alaska released to msnbc.com reporter Bill Dedman
Bill Dedman
Bill Dedman, an American journalist, is an investigative reporter for news site msnbc.com and a recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting....
about 1,200 e-mails, which totalled 3,000 pages, that Palin exchanged with state officials. Almost 250 additional ones were withheld by the state, under a claim that executive privilege extends to Palin as an unpaid adviser to the government. Gregg Erickson, columnist for 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"...
, said, in September 2008, that Palin "obviously plays an important role… I've seen him in the governor's office and I know that she's conducted interviews in the governor's office with him present." The emails showed Palin discussing a wide range of activities: potential board appointees, constituent complaints, use of the state jet, oil and gas production, marine regulation, gas pipeline bids, wildfires, native Alaskan issues, the state effort to save the Matanuska Maid dairy, budget planning, potential budget vetoes, oil shale leasing, "strategy for responding to media allegations," staffing at the mansion, pier diem payments to the governor for travel, "strategy for responding to questions about pregnancy," potential cuts to the governor's staff, "confidentiality issues," Bureau of Land Management
Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior which administers America's public lands, totaling approximately , or one-eighth of the landmass of the country. The BLM also manages of subsurface mineral estate underlying federal, state and private...
land transfers and trespass issues and requests to the U.S. transportation secretary.
Other
As of late 2009, Palin was a community volunteer who worked in youth sports, coached hockeyHockey
Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...
and basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
.
He was a judge in the 2008 Miss Alaska
Miss Alaska
The Miss Alaska competition is a scholarship pageant that selects the representative for the state of Alaska in the Miss America pageant.Alaska's highest placement occurred in 1998, when Joslyn Tinker was selected for the Top Ten. One Miss Alaska won a preliminary swimsuit and another won a...
pageant.
Champion snowmobile racer
Palin is a four-time champion of the Tesoro Iron DogTesoro Iron Dog
Iron Dog, originally known as the Iron Dog Gold Rush Classic and later the Tesoro Iron Dog, is an off-road snowmobile race across Alaska. It normally starts on a Sunday in mid-February. At , it is the longest snowmobile race in the world. The 2008 event featured a record forty teams competing for a...
, the world's longest snowmobile
Snowmobile
A snowmobile, also known in some places as a snowmachine, or sled,is a land vehicle for winter travel on snow. Designed to be operated on snow and ice, they require no road or trail. Design variations enable some machines to operate in deep snow or forests; most are used on open terrain, including...
race. and traces the path of the Iditarod
Iditarod
Iditarod may refer to:*Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, an annual sled dog race in the Alaskan Interior and western coast*Iditarod Trail, a historical trail across the Alaskan Interior*Iditarod, Alaska, a town for which the trail and races are named...
race with an extra journey of several hundred miles to Fairbanks
Fairbanks
Fairbanks may refer to:Places in the United States*Fairbanks, Alaska, city*Fairbanks, California, unincorporated community in El Dorado County*Fairbanks, Mendocino County, California, former settlement*Fairbanks, Indiana, unincorporated community...
added.
Palin has competed in the Tesoro every year since 1993. His racing teammate is Scott Davis, with whom he won in 2007. He has previously raced with Dusty Van Meter in the race, and they were co-champions in 2000 and 2002. In 1995, Palin partnered with Dwayne Drake for his first win.
In 2008, 400 miles (643.7 km) from defending his Tesoro Iron Dog
Tesoro Iron Dog
Iron Dog, originally known as the Iron Dog Gold Rush Classic and later the Tesoro Iron Dog, is an off-road snowmobile race across Alaska. It normally starts on a Sunday in mid-February. At , it is the longest snowmobile race in the world. The 2008 event featured a record forty teams competing for a...
championship, he was injured and broke his arm when he was thrown 70 feet from his machine. He was sent to the hospital but managed to finish in fourth place.
Personal life
In 1988, Palin married his high school sweetheart, Sarah HeathSarah 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...
. The Palins have five children: Track Charles James (b. 1989), who has enlisted in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
and deployed to Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
on September 11, 2008; Bristol Sheeran Marie
Bristol Palin
Bristol Sheeran Marie Palin is the second child and oldest daughter of former Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin and her husband, Todd....
(b. 1990); Willow Bianca Faye (b. 1994); Piper Indy Grace (b. 2001); and Trig Paxson Van (b. 2008), who has Down syndrome
Down syndrome
Down syndrome, or Down's syndrome, trisomy 21, is a chromosomal condition caused by the presence of all or part of an extra 21st chromosome. It is named after John Langdon Down, the British physician who described the syndrome in 1866. The condition was clinically described earlier in the 19th...
; and two grandchildren: Tripp Easton Mitchell Johnston, born in 2008 in Palmer, Alaska
Palmer, Alaska
Palmer is the borough seat of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough in the state of Alaska, USA. It is part of the Anchorage Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city is 5,937....
, to Bristol and Levi Johnston
Levi Johnston
Levi Keith Johnston is the former fiancé of Bristol Palin. He first received media attention in August 2008 when U.S. vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin announced that her daughter Bristol was five months pregnant with Johnston's baby and that the two were engaged...
and Kyla Grace Palin, who was born to son Track and his wife, Britta, in 2011.
Palin fishes and holds a Private Pilot Certificate. He also owns his own aircraft, a Piper PA-18 Super Cub.
Palin's stepmother, Faye Palin, ran unsuccessfully in 2002 for the position of Mayor for 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...
, to succeed Palin's wife, Sarah, who was term-limited. Faye Palin, who is pro-choice
Pro-choice
Support for the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-choice movement, a sociopolitical movement supporting the ethical view that a woman should have the legal right to elective abortion, meaning the right to terminate her pregnancy....
and a registered Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, lost to Dianne M. Keller
Dianne M. Keller
Dianne Michelle Keller is an American politician and a former Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska.Keller was born in Anchorage. She was elected as the Mayor of Wasilla in 2002 and re-elected in 2005. She survived a no-confidence vote in July 2008. She is a member of the Alaska Republican Party, and publicly...
, a candidate endorsed by Sarah Palin.
Public Safety Commissioner controversy
Todd Palin's name has appeared in news reports regarding the firing of Commissioner Walt MoneganWalt Monegan
Walter Carleton "Walt" Monegan, III is the former Police Chief of Anchorage, Alaska and Public Safety Commissioner of Alaska. His dismissal in July 2008 by Alaska Governor Sarah Palin drew considerable attention, particularly after Palin's selection as the Vice-Presidential nominee for the...
and the actions of Alaska State Trooper Mike Wooten. At one point, Todd Palin brought information prepared by himself and a private investigator to Monegan.
On September 12, 2008, the Alaska Legislature
Alaska Legislature
The Alaska Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is a bicameral institution, consisting of the lower Alaska House of Representatives, with 40 members, and the upper house Alaska Senate, with 20 members...
subpoena
Subpoena
A subpoena is a writ by a government agency, most often a court, that has authority to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of subpoena:...
ed Palin to testify on his role in the controversy. On September 18, the McCain/Palin campaign announced that Todd Palin would refuse to testify because he does not believe the investigation is legitimate. State senator Bill Wielechowski said that the witnesses could not be punished for disobeying the subpoenas until the full legislature comes into session, then scheduled to be in January 2009.
On October 10, 2008, Palin was cited in special investigator Stephen Branchflower's report to the Legislative Council. One of Branchflower's four main findings was that Governor Palin violated Alaska's Ethics Act when she "wrongfully permitted Todd Palin to use the governor's office...to continue to contact subordinate state employees in an effort to find some way to get Trooper Wooten fired." Blanchflower also states: "Todd Palin is not an employee of the (Alaska) executive branch, so his conduct is not a violation of (the Ethics Act)." and " . . . I make no finding as to Mr. Palin's conduct.".