Three boxes of documents sit in a warehouse in Seattle. These boxes contain the documents that chronicle a Federal wrongful termination suit lodged against Palin by her chief of police of Wassila, AK. The Seattle times has dug into these boxes and produced perhaps the most detailed look into Palin's experience as mayor of a small Alaskan town.
These records, from a federal wrongful-termination lawsuit, include the minutiae of municipal governance, with memos to administrators and personnel records stamped "confidential." The documents, combined with accounts from her hometown newspaper, show how Palin's first year as mayor could easily have been her last.
As always, I recommend that you read the entire article. But highlights over the jump.
Someone looking for "change" in Washington would not be encouraged by what they see. These boxes chronicle an all-too familiar story of cronyism and politically-motivated firings. Think attorney-gate, but with moose-hunters.
And this was not lost on the residents:
The Frontiersman ran blistering editorials, condemning Palin's philosophy "that either we are with her or against her." The newspaper accused Palin of mistaking the 616 votes she received as a "coronation."
"Wasilla residents have been subjected to attempts to unlawfully appoint council members, statements that have been shown to be patently untrue, unrepentant backpedaling, and incessant whining that her only enemies are the press and a few disgruntled supporters of Mayor Stein. ... Palin promised to change the status quo, but at every turn we find hints of cronyism and political maneuvering. We see a woman who has long since surrendered her ideals to a political machine."
The newspaper's readers chimed in. "Mayor Sarah Palin behaves like a petulant, spoiled teenager," wrote a woman who ran a flower shop. A tool-and-die maker defended Palin, writing, "We didn't want 'business as usual.' "
How utterly familiar--the small vote margin viewed as a mandate, the assignation of all blame to enemies in the press or political rivals, the promise of "change" only to provide more of the same, only worse.
This woman is the second coming of George W. Bush.
Now, to be fair, the article does note that things calmed down after that first year. But nevertheless, the impression that it leaves of Palin's character is very negative.
Her firing of her police chief, Irl Stambaugh, is the centerpiece of the article and is perhaps the most illustrative example. While his wrongful termination suit was eventually thrown out, Palin's motives for the firing come across as petty, and ultimately political.
The stated cause for firing was his lack of enthusiasm in carrying out a weekly reporting task--a task the boxes in Seattle prove he carried out dutifully and without any apparent ill-will.
Citing this, and also his quiet demeanor during their meetings, Palin stated:
"You know when you have someone's full support, and you know when you do not."
And with that, she fired a man who had been nominated as Alaska's Munincipal Employee of the Year by her predecessor.
Was this legal? Apparently so. But was this wise? Was this ehtical? Was this "leadership"?
Apparently lots of Wassilan's didn't think so, so they began a recall campaign. A campaign that was likely instrumental in reigning in the brash and ruthless mayor.
A mayor who ruled with some strange political bedfellows. For a non-partisan position, Palin's campaigns were highly unusual in her open and highly publicized alliances with state GOP politicians. And she ran strongly towards the conservative base, somehow bringing the abortion issue into her race for mayor and claiming the mantle as Wassila's first "Christian" mayor.
But a strange Christian mayor:
In the summer of 1996, Stambaugh encouraged Wasilla and the Mat-Su Borough, the regional governing body, to pass ordinances requiring bars and liquor stores to close earlier than 5 a.m., the latest hour allowed by state law. Because bars in Anchorage closed earlier, some people drove to Wasilla to keep drinking, endangering themselves and others, Stambaugh argued. He wanted Wasilla's bars to close at 2:30 a.m. on weekdays and 3 a.m. on weekends.
The idea's supporters talked of reducing roadway fatalities. Opponents talked of an encroachment on their individual freedom. The borough's leadership rejected the proposal, and afterward so did the Wasilla City Council, by a 3-2 vote. Palin was in the majority.
Anyone want to find the Bible verse that would support keeping bars open later into the morning, despite the risk to drivers it posed?
Palin also was strongly allied with the NRA, which opposed a ban on concealed weapons in these same bars--A ban that Stambaugh, the eventually fired police chief, supported.
As we learn more and more about this woman, her history paints a picture very familiar to those of us in the Bush era. A picture of Machiavellian, slash-and-burn politics driven by wedge issues and intense cronyism. And while she would likely help bring "change" to Washington, it would likely only be a change of the deck chairs on the ship, but not its direction.
Seattle Times: Sarah Palin had turbulent first year as mayor of Alaska town
Also, see: McCain/Palin becoming Palin/McCain?