Early political career of Sarah Palin

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.

[5] 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.

Palin told the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman that she could handle the job of Mayor without any assistance from veteran town officials: "It's not rocket science.

[16] In the campaign, she vowed to replace "stale leadership"[16] and criticized Stein for wasteful spending and high taxes.

[19] She temporarily required department heads to get her approval before talking to reporters, stating they first needed to become better acquainted with her policies.

"[21] 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.

[18] She would later come into conflict with Fannon when he ran for political office using campaign ads containing a false endorsement from Palin.

[18] She 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.

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.

Democratic activist Anne Kilkenny claimed that during Palin's six years as mayor, general government expenditures increased by over 33%, while city taxes went up by 38%.

Because of economic growth, Keller anticipates that Wasilla can stop charging the extra .5 percent sales tax two years sooner than expected.

[31] 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.

[32] 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 domain lawsuit caused by a failure to obtain legal ownership of the property before beginning construction.

[32][33] During her second term, Palin joined with nearby communities in jointly hiring the Anchorage-based firm of Robertson, Monagle & Eastaugh to lobby for earmarks for Wasilla.

[40][42] After resigning, Palin filed a formal complaint against Oil and Gas Conservation Commissioner Randy Ruedrich, also the chair of the state Republican Party,[43] 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[44] to file a complaint against Gregg Renkes, a former Alaskan Attorney General,[45] accusing him of having a financial conflict of interest in negotiating a coal exporting trade agreement,[46] while Renkes was the subject of investigation and after records suggesting a possible conflict of interest had been released to the public.

[41][42] 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.

[48] 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.