The Orbis

Issue date: 9/10/08 Section: News/Features

Republican Governor Sarah Louis Heath Palin of Alaska

To the astonishment of many, Republican Party presidential nominee John McCain announced Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin as his running mate on Aug. 29. Before Palin became Alaska's first female governor in 2006, she served as mayor of Wasilla, a city with around 7,000 residents, from 1996 to 2002. Residents of Wasilla reacted with surprise to the news that the woman who just six years ago served as their mayor could potentially become Vice President. "Frankly," the city's deputy clerk Jamie Newton told the New York Times, "everyone is in shock." So too are the residents of the other 49 states, as Palin's name was largely absent from the campaign's running mate discussion.

A former local beauty queen and self-described "hockey mom," Palin ousted the incumbent governor Frank Murkowski by 30 points in the 2006 primary, the same governor who appointed Palin chairwoman of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission - the state board that settles drilling disputes - three years prior. As chairwoman, Palin earned the name "Sarah Barracuda" as she piloted an ethics investigation into fellow commissioner Randy Ruedrich's potential conflict of interest with oil companies. Ruedrich, the new chairman of the state GOP, resigned under accusations of soliciting contributions from the oil industry.

Palin herself has come under scrutiny for her connection with oil companies. The conflict of interest, Democrats state, stems from her husband's employment as a production operator in the oil company BP Exploration. However, contrary to this notion, Palin passed a major tax increase on state oil production, raising billions in revenue, part of which she has managed to give back to Alaskans - $1, 200 per Alaskan due to her championed legislation.

Palin's manhunt did not stop with the resignation of Randy Ruedrich. She has also been linked to the resignation of former state public safety commissioner Walt Monegan. In July 2008, the Republican-controlled legislature began an investigation to determine whether Palin inappropriately pressured Monegan to resign. Monegan said he felt pressure from Palin's administration to fire a state trooper, Mike Wooten, who happened to be the ex-husband of the governor's sister. Monegan told the local press that Palin's husband showed him findings of the family's hired private investigator that accused the trooper of such misdeeds as child abuse and drunk driving. Mr. Monegan did not fire the trooper and resigned shortly after.

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