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On the heels of the final, historic 2008 presidential debate, the Wasilla Project releases Part 3 of our series, where we examine Palin's record as a fiscal conservative. Clearly, the economy has emerged as the dominant issue of the 2008 presidential campaign and we hope that this video will be a useful contribution in understanding some of the history of Palin's public service in Alaska.
After 8 years of a Republican White House, there still seems to be a reality distortion field around the concept of "Fiscal Conservative." Governor Palin presents herself as a fiscal conservative who has a record of helping taxpayers in her state. The reality has often been quite different.
It's surprising that someone who came into office as mayor to cut wasteful spending and lower property taxes, actually left office with Wasilla over $20 million in debt, when records show that she entered office with city debt at one million or less.
Some $14-15 million of that debt was due to a hockey rink she built while in office, land for which Wasilla negotiated the purchase for $145,000. They eventually paid out nearly $1.5 million for the land, not counting legal fees, due to Palin moving forward on the project before the city had clear title to the land. This echoes in significant ways Palin's later negotiations as governor on the Alaskan pipeline, where she committed $500 million in taxpayer money, without assurances that a Canadian company would even build the pipeline.
As the economy worsens in the United States, markets around the world are crashing and people are losing their homes and pensions, it's irresponsible not to question the economic positions and records of the candidates. In the case of Palin, her record has been extremely troubling and reflects part of the reason that she has lost credibility with so many Alaskans in recent weeks.
- Victoria Naegele – former editor of The Frontiersman, Wasilla’s hometown paper. Victoria is currently on the fence about Palin as governor today, but was sharply critical of her during her first few years as mayor. In her interview, she expressed hope that Palin had learned lessons while mayor that could make her a better leader.
- Anne Kilkenny – longtime Wasilla resident and government observer.
- Dianne Woodruff – Wasilla city councilwoman. Dianne is intimately involved in the current finances of the town and the efforts to improve the living conditions there.
- Zane Henning – is a Wasilla resident, politically conservative, and active as a researcher and government watchdog.
- Andree McCleod – is a government watchdog who has been investigating Palin’s use of Yahoo email while governor. Palin has used Yahoo mail for government business, which has been counter to her image as supporting open and transparent government. Palin's Yahoo email has remained hidden from investigators and doesn't enter into the state archives as her official governor's email address would.
Tagged as: alaska, sarah palin, anne kilkenny, fiscal conservative
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