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December 2, 2008 7:33:01 PM CST

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Mayor Palin Sped Town's Turn From Frontier to Suburb

Posted Sep 2, 08 8:00 PM CDT in Politics 

(Newser) – Sarah Palin’s image as an intrepid frontierswoman comes largely from her 10 years as city councilwoman and then mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, home of the Iditarod dog-sled race. But the Iditarod’s start had to be moved north because of Wasilla’s numerous new driveways, the Wall Street Journal reports. Palin's legacy is the fast-tracking of the suburbanization of the town, which now has a Wal-Mart and a Pizza Hut.

Residents complain that their once-wild town, in one critic's words, “feels more like Anchorage, more and more." And Palin the mayoral candidate is remembered for injecting partisan politics into a race usually seen as a neighborly contest, Time reports. "It was always a nonpartisan job," says an opponent. "But with her, the state GOP came in and started affecting the race."

Sources Wall Street Journal, Time

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This undated photo provided by the Heath family shows Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as a city council member of Wasilla, Alaska.   (AP Photo/Heath Family)
This undated photo provided by the Heath family shows Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, left, with her Wasilla High School cross-country team in Wasilla, Alaska.   (AP Photo/Heath Family)
Sally Nevada, left, sits on her porch at her home next to Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's home with her friend Gail Petersen in Wasilla, Alaska, Monday, Sept. 1, 2008.   (AP Photo/Al Grillo)
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It got to the extent that — I don't remember who it was now — but some national anti-abortion outfit sent little pink cards to voters in Wasilla endorsing her. - John Stein, former mayor of Wasilla

Stein figured he was just going to run your average friendly small-town race, but it turned into something much different. I just thought, that's ridiculous, she should concentrate on roads, not abortion. - Vicky Naegele, editor, Valley Frontiersman

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Sarah Palin • Alaska • GOP • vice presidential candidate • abortion • conservative • mayor • Wasilla • Frontier


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