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ABOUT SARAH PALIN
> >
> > I am a resident of Wasilla, Alaska. I have known Sarah since 1992.
> > Everyone here knows Sarah, so it is nothing special to say we are on a
> > first-name basis. Our children have attended the same schools. Her
> > father was my child's favorite substitute teacher. I also am on a
> > first name basis with her parents and mother-in-law. I attended more
> > City Council meetings during her administration than about 99% of the
> > residents of the city.
> >
>
> > Her experience is as mayor of a city with a population of about 5,000
> > (at the time), and less than 2 years as governor of a state with about
> > 670,000 residents.
> >
> > During her mayoral administration most of the actual work of running
> > this small city was turned over to an administrator. She had been
> > pushed to hire this administrator by party power-brokers after she had
> > gotten herself into some trouble over precipitous firings which had
> > given rise to a recall campaign.
> >
> > Sarah campaigned in Wasilla as a "fiscal conservative". During her 6
> > years as Mayor, she increased general government expenditures by over
> > 33%. During those same 6 years the amount of taxes collected by the City
> > increased by 38%. This was during a period of low inflation
> > (1996-2002). She reduced progressive property taxes and increased a
> > regressive sales tax which taxed even food. The tax cuts that she
> > promoted benefited large corporate property owners way more than they
> > benefited residents.
> >
> > The huge increases in tax revenues during her mayoral administration
> > weren't enough to fund everything on her wish list though, borrowed
> > money was needed, too. She inherited a city with zero debt, but left it
> > with indebtedness of over $22 million. What did Mayor Palin encourage
> > the voters to borrow money for? Was it the infrastructure that she said
> > she supported? The sewage treatment plant that the city lacked? or a
> > new library? No. $1m for a park. $15m-plus for construction of a
> > multi-use sports complex which she rushed through to build on a piece of
> > property that the City didn't even have clear title to, that was still
> > in litigation 7 yrs later.
> >
> > As an oil producer, the high price of oil has created a budget surplus
> > in Alaska. Rather than invest this surplus in technology that will make
> > us energy independent and increase efficiency, as Governor she proposed
> > distribution of this surplus to every individual in the state.
> >
> > In this time of record state revenues and budget surpluses, she
> > recommended that the state borrow/bond for road projects, even while she
> > proposed distribution of surplus state revenues: spend today's surplus,
> > borrow for needs.
> >
As Mayor, she fought ideas that weren't generated by her
> > or her staff. Ideas weren't evaluated on their merits, but on the basis
> > of who proposed them.
> >
> > While Sarah was Mayor of Wasilla she tried to fire our highly respected
> > City Librarian because the Librarian refused to consider removing from
> > the library some books that Sarah wanted removed. City residents
> > rallied to the defense of the City Librarian and against Palin's attempt
> > at out-and-out censorship, so Palin backed down and withdrew her
> > termination letter. People who fought her attempt to oust the Librarian
> > are on her enemies list to this day.
> >
Palin fired most of the experienced staff she inherited. At the City and as
> > Governor she hired or elevated new, inexperienced, obscure people,
> > creating a staff totally dependent on her for their jobs and eternally
> > grateful and fiercely loyal--loyal to the point of abusing their power
> > to further her personal agenda, as she has acknowledged happened in the
> > case of pressuring the State's top cop (see below).
> >
> > As Mayor, Sarah fired Wasilla's Police Chief because he "intimidated"
> > her, she told the press. As Governor, her recent firing of Alaska's top
> > cop has the ring of familiarity about it. He served at her pleasure and
> > she had every legal right to fire him, but it's pretty clear that an
> > important factor in her decision to fire him was because he wouldn't
> > fire her sister's ex-husband, a State Trooper. Under investigation
> > for abuse of power, she has had to admit that more than 2 dozen contacts
> > were made between her staff and family to the person that she later
> > fired, pressuring him to fire her ex-brother-in-law. She tried to
> > replace the man she fired with a man who she knew had been reprimanded
> > for sexual harassment; when this caused a public furor, she withdrew her
> > support.
> >
> > As Mayor, she had her hand stuck out as far as anyone for pork from
> > Senator Ted Stevens. Lately, she has castigated his pork-barrel
> > politics and publicly humiliated him. She only opposed the "bridge to
> > nowhere" after it became clear that it would be unwise not to.
> >
> > As Governor, she gave the Legislature no direction and budget
> > guidelines, then made a big grandstand display of line-item vetoing
> > projects, calling them pork. Public outcry and further legislative
> > action restored most of these projects--which had been vetoed simply
> > because she was not aware of their importance--but with the unobservant
> > she had gained a reputation as "anti-pork".
> >
> > Like most Alaskans, she favors drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife
> > Refuge. She has questioned if the loss of sea ice is linked to
> > global warming. She campaigned "as a private citizen" against a state
> > initiaitive that would have either a) protected salmon streams from
> > pollution from mines, or b) tied up in the courts all mining in the
> > state (depending on who you listen to). She has pushed the State's
> > lawsuit against the Dept. of the Interior's decision to list polar bears
> > as threatened species.
