only1wwff
10-28-2008, 11:08 PM
This letter is incredibly long but gets better as you read on...sorry if you've seen in before, I had not and found it quite interesting...
Brenda-
If this letter does not scare people about Sarah Palin, I don't think anything will.
I would rather vote for Malibu Barbi for Vice President.
Tell me what you think!
-SM
Dear friends,
>
> So many people have asked me about what I know about Sarah Palin in the last 2
> days that I decided to write something up . . .
>
> Basically, Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton have only 2 things in common: their
> gender and their good looks. :)
>
> You have my permission to forward this to your friends/email contacts with my
> name and email address attached, but please do not post it on any websites, as
> there are too many kooks out there . . .
>
> Thanks,
> Anne
>
>
> ABOUT SARAH PALIN
>
> I am a resident of Wasilla, Alaska. I have known Sarah since 1992. Everyone
> here knows Sarah, so it is nothing special to say we are on a first-name basis.
> Our children have attended the same schools. Her father was my child's
> favorite substitute teacher. I also am on a first name basis with her parents
> and mother-in-law. I attended more City Council meetings during her
> administration than about 99% of the residents of the city.
>
> She is enormously popular; in every way she's like the most popular girl in
> middle school. Even men who think she is a poor choice and won't vote for
> her can't quit smiling when talking about her because she is a
> 'babe'.
>
> It is astonishing and almost scary how well she can keep a secret. She kept
> her most recent pregnancy a secret from her children and parents for seven
> months.
>
> She is 'pro-life'. She recently gave birth to a Down's syndrome
> baby. There is no cover-up involved, here; Trig is her baby.
>
> She is energetic and hardworking. She regularly worked out at the gym.
>
> She is savvy. She doesn't take positions; she just 'puts things out
> there' and if they prove to be popular, then she takes credit.
>
> Her husband works a union job on the North Slope for BP and is a champion
> snowmobile racer. Todd Palin's kind of job is highly sought-after because
> of the schedule and high pay. He arranges his work schedule so he can fish for
> salmon in Bristol Bay for a month or so in summer, but by no stretch of the
> imagination is fishing their major source of income. Nor has her life-style
> ever been anything like that of native Alaskans.
>
> Sarah and her whole family are avid hunters.
>
> She's smart.
>
> Her experience is as mayor of a city with a population of about 5,000 (at the
> time), and less than 2 years as governor of a state with about 670,000
> residents.
>
> During her mayoral administration most of the actual work of running this small
> city was turned over to an administrator. She had been pushed to hire this
> administrator by party power-brokers after she had gotten herself into some
> trouble over precipitous firings which had given rise to a recall campaign.
>
> Sarah campaigned in Wasilla as a "fiscal conservative". During her 6
> years as Mayor, she increased general government expenditures by over 33%.
> During those same 6 years the amount of taxes collected by the City increased by
> 38%. This was during a period of low inflation (1996-2002). She reduced
> progressive property taxes and increased a regressive sales tax which taxed even
> food. The tax cuts that she promoted benefited large corporate property owners
> way more than they benefited residents.
>
> The huge increases in tax revenues during her mayoral administration
> weren't enough to fund everything on her wish list though, borrowed money
> was needed, too. She inherited a city with zero debt, but left it with
> indebtedness of over $22 million. What did Mayor Palin encourage the voters to
> borrow money for? Was it the infrastructure that she said she supported? The
> sewage treatment plant that the city lacked? or a new library? No. $1m for a
> park. $15m-plus for construction of a multi-use sports complex which she rushed
> through to build on a piece of property that the City didn't even have clear
> title to, that was still in litigation 7 yrs later--to the delight of the
> lawyers involved! The sports complex itself is a nice addition to the community
> but a huge money pit, not the profit-generator she claimed it would be. She
> also supported bonds for $5.5m for road projects that could have been done in
> 5-7 yrs without any borrowing.
>
> While Mayor, City Hall was extensively remodeled and her office redecorated
> more than once.
>
> These are small numbers, but Wasilla is a very small city.
>
> As an oil producer, the high price of oil has created a budget surplus in
> Alaska. Rather than invest this surplus in technology that will make us energy
> independent and increase efficiency, as Governor she proposed distribution of
> this surplus to every individual in the state.
>
> In this time of record state revenues and budget surpluses, she recommended
> that the state borrow/bond for road projects, even while she proposed
> distribution of surplus state revenues: spend today's surplus, borrow for
> needs.
>
> She's not very tolerant of divergent opinions or open to outside ideas or
> compromise. As Mayor, she fought ideas that weren't generated by her or her
> staff. Ideas weren't evaluated on their merits, but on the basis of who
> proposed them.
>
> While Sarah was Mayor of Wasilla she tried to fire our highly respected City
> Librarian because the Librarian refused to consider removing from the library
> some books that Sarah wanted removed. City residents rallied to the defense of
> the City Librarian and against Palin's attempt at out-and-out censorship, so
> Palin backed down and withdrew her termination letter. People who fought her
> attempt to oust the Librarian are on her enemies list to this day.
>
> Sarah complained about the "old boy's club" when she first ran
> for Mayor, so what did she bring Wasilla? A new set of 'old boys'.
> Palin fired most of the experienced staff she inherited. At the City and as
> Governor she hired or elevated new, inexperienced, obscure people, creating a
> staff totally dependent on her for their jobs and eternally grateful and
> fiercely loyal--loyal to the point of abusing their power to further her
> personal agenda, as she has acknowledged happened in the case of pressuring the
> State's top cop (see below).
>
> As Mayor, Sarah fired Wasilla's Police Chief because he
> "intimidated" her, she told the press. As Governor, her recent firing
> of Alaska's top cop has the ring of familiarity about it. He served at her
> pleasure and she had every legal right to fire him, but it's pretty clear
> that an important factor in her decision to fire him was because he wouldn't
> fire her sister's ex-husband, a State Trooper. Under investigation for
> abuse of power, she has had to admit that more than 2 dozen contacts were made
> between her staff and family to the person that she later fired, pressuring him
> to fire her ex-brother-in-law. She tried to replace the man she fired with a man
> who she knew had been reprimanded for sexual harassment; when this caused a
> public furor, she withdrew her support.
>
> She has bitten the hand of every person who extended theirs to her in help. The
> City Council person who personally escorted her around town introducing her to
> voters when she first ran for Wasilla City Council became one of her first
> targets when she was later elected Mayor. She abruptly fired her loyal City
> Administrator; even people who didn't like the guy were stunned by this
> ruthlessness.
>
> Fear of retribution has kept all of these people from saying anything publicly
> about her.
>
> When then-Governor Murkowski was handing out political plums, Sarah got the
> best, Chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission: one of the few
> jobs not in Juneau and one of the best paid. She had no background in oil
> & gas issues. Within months of scoring this great job which paid
> $122,400/yr, she was complaining in the press about the high salary. I was told
> that she hated that job: the commute, the structured hours, the work. Sarah
> became aware that a member of this Commission (who was also the State Chair of
> the Republican Party) engaged in unethical behavior on the job. In a gutsy
> move which some undoubtedly cautioned her could be political suicide, Sarah
> solved all her problems in one fell swoop: got out of the job she hated and
> garnered gobs of media attention as the patron saint of ethics and as a gutsy
> fighter against the "old boys' club" when she dramatically quit,
> exposing this man's ethics violations (for which he was fined).
>
> As Mayor, she had her hand stuck out as far as anyone for pork from Senator Ted
> Stevens. Lately, she has castigated his pork-barrel politics and publicly
> humiliated him. She only opposed the "bridge to nowhere" after it
> became clear that it would be unwise not to.
>
> As Governor, she gave the Legislature no direction and budget guidelines, then
> made a big grandstand display of line-item vetoing projects, calling them pork.
> Public outcry and further legislative action restored most of these
> projects--which had been vetoed simply because she was not aware of their
> importance--but with the unobservant she had gained a reputation as
> "anti-pork".
>
> She is solidly Republican: no political maverick. The State party leaders hate
> her because she has bit them in the back and humiliated them. Other members of
> the party object to her self-description as a fiscal conservative.
>
> Around Wasilla there are people who went to high school with Sarah. They call
> her "Sarah Barracuda" because of her unbridled ambition and predatory
> ruthlessness. Before she became so powerful, very ugly stories circulated
> around town about shenanigans she pulled to be made point guard on the high
> school basketball team. When Sarah's mother-in-law, a highly respected
> member of the community and experienced manager, ran for Mayor, Sarah refused to
> endorse her.
>
> As Governor, she stepped outside of the box and put together of package of
> legislation known as "AGIA" that forced the oil companies to march to
> the beat of her drum.
>
> Like most Alaskans, she favors drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
> She has questioned if the loss of sea ice is linked to global warming. She
> campaigned "as a private citizen" against a state initiaitive that
> would have either a) protected salmon streams from pollution from mines, or b)
> tied up in the courts all mining in the state (depending on who you listen to).
> She has pushed the State's lawsuit against the Dept. of the Interior's
> decision to list polar bears as threatened species.
>
> McCain is the oldest person to ever run for President; Sarah will be a
> heartbeat away from being President.
>
> There has to be literally millions of Americans who are more knowledgeable and
> experienced than she.
>
> However, there's a lot of people who have underestimated her and are
> regretting it.
>
>
> CLAIM VS FACT
> *"Hockey mom": true for a few years
> *"PTA mom": true years ago when her first-born was in elementary
> school, not since
> *"NRA supporter": absolutely true
> *social conservative: mixed. Opposes gay marriage, BUT vetoed a bill that
> would have denied benefits to employees in same-sex relationships (said she did
> this because it was unconsitutional).
>
> *pro-creationism: mixed. Supports it, BUT did nothing as Governor to promote
> it.
> *"Pro-life": mixed. Knowingly gave birth to a Down's syndrome
> baby BUT declined to call a special legislative session on some pro-life
> legislation
>
> *"Experienced": Some high schools have more students than Wasilla
> has residents. Many cities have more residents than the state of Alaska. No
> legislative experience other than City Council. Little hands-on supervisory or
> managerial experience; needed help of a city administrator to run town of about
> 5,000.
>
> *political maverick: not at all
> *gutsy: absolutely!
> *open & transparent: ??? Good at keeping secrets. Not good at explaining
> actions.
> *has a developed philosophy of public policy: no
> *"a Greenie": no. Turned Wasilla into a wasteland of big box stores
> and disconnected parking lots. Is pro-drilling off-shore and in ANWR.
>
> *fiscal conservative: not by my definition!
> *pro-infrastructure: No. Promoted a sports complex and park in a city without
> a sewage treatment plant or storm drainage system. Built streets to early 20th
> century standards.
>
> *pro-tax relief: Lowered taxes for businesses, increased tax burden on
> residents
> *pro-small government: No. Oversaw greatest expansion of city government in
> Wasilla's history.
> *pro-labor/pro-union. No. Just because her husband works union doesn't
> make her pro-labor. I have seen nothing to support any claim that she is
> pro-labor/pro-union.
>
> WHY AM I WRITING THIS?
>
> First, I have long believed in the importance of being an informed voter. I am
> a voter registrar. For 10 years I put on student voting programs in the schools.
> If you google my name (Anne Kilkenny + Alaska), you will find references to my
> participation in local government, education, and PTA/parent organizations.
>
> Secondly, I've always operated in the belief that 'Bad things happen
> when good people stay silent'. Few people know as much as I do because few
> have gone to as many City Council meetings.
>
> Third, I am just a housewife. I don't have a job she can bump me out of. I
> don't belong to any organization that she can hurt. But, I am no fool; she
> is immensely popular here, and it is likely that this will cost me somehow in
> the future: that's life.
>
> Fourth, she has hated me since back in 1996, when I was one of the 100 or so
> people who rallied to support the City Librarian against Sarah's attempt at
> censorship.
>
> Fifth, I looked around and realized that everybody else was afraid to say
> anything because they were somehow vulnerable.
>
> CAVEATS
> I am not a statistician. I developed the numbers for the increase in spending
> & taxation 2 years ago (when Palin was running for Governor) from
> information supplied to me by the Finance Director of the City of Wasilla, and I
> can't recall exactly what I adjusted for: did I adjust for inflation? for
> population increases? Right now, it is impossible for a private person to get
> any info out of City Hall--they are swamped. So I can't verify my numbers.
>
>
> You may have noticed that there are various numbers circulating for the
> population of Wasilla, ranging from my 'about 5,000', up to 9,000. The
> day Palin's selection was announced a city official told me that the current
> population is about 7,000. The official 2000 census count was 5,460. I have
> used about 5,000 because Palin was Mayor from 1996 to 2002, and the city was
> growing rapidly in the mid-90's.
>
> Anne Kilkenny
Brenda-
If this letter does not scare people about Sarah Palin, I don't think anything will.
I would rather vote for Malibu Barbi for Vice President.
Tell me what you think!
-SM
Dear friends,
>
> So many people have asked me about what I know about Sarah Palin in the last 2
> days that I decided to write something up . . .
>
> Basically, Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton have only 2 things in common: their
> gender and their good looks. :)
>
> You have my permission to forward this to your friends/email contacts with my
> name and email address attached, but please do not post it on any websites, as
> there are too many kooks out there . . .
>
> Thanks,
> Anne
>
>
> ABOUT SARAH PALIN
>
> I am a resident of Wasilla, Alaska. I have known Sarah since 1992. Everyone
> here knows Sarah, so it is nothing special to say we are on a first-name basis.
> Our children have attended the same schools. Her father was my child's
> favorite substitute teacher. I also am on a first name basis with her parents
> and mother-in-law. I attended more City Council meetings during her
> administration than about 99% of the residents of the city.
>
> She is enormously popular; in every way she's like the most popular girl in
> middle school. Even men who think she is a poor choice and won't vote for
> her can't quit smiling when talking about her because she is a
> 'babe'.
>
> It is astonishing and almost scary how well she can keep a secret. She kept
> her most recent pregnancy a secret from her children and parents for seven
> months.
>
> She is 'pro-life'. She recently gave birth to a Down's syndrome
> baby. There is no cover-up involved, here; Trig is her baby.
>
> She is energetic and hardworking. She regularly worked out at the gym.
>
> She is savvy. She doesn't take positions; she just 'puts things out
> there' and if they prove to be popular, then she takes credit.
>
> Her husband works a union job on the North Slope for BP and is a champion
> snowmobile racer. Todd Palin's kind of job is highly sought-after because
> of the schedule and high pay. He arranges his work schedule so he can fish for
> salmon in Bristol Bay for a month or so in summer, but by no stretch of the
> imagination is fishing their major source of income. Nor has her life-style
> ever been anything like that of native Alaskans.
>
> Sarah and her whole family are avid hunters.
>
> She's smart.
>
> Her experience is as mayor of a city with a population of about 5,000 (at the
> time), and less than 2 years as governor of a state with about 670,000
> residents.
>
> During her mayoral administration most of the actual work of running this small
> city was turned over to an administrator. She had been pushed to hire this
> administrator by party power-brokers after she had gotten herself into some
> trouble over precipitous firings which had given rise to a recall campaign.
>
> Sarah campaigned in Wasilla as a "fiscal conservative". During her 6
> years as Mayor, she increased general government expenditures by over 33%.
> During those same 6 years the amount of taxes collected by the City increased by
> 38%. This was during a period of low inflation (1996-2002). She reduced
> progressive property taxes and increased a regressive sales tax which taxed even
> food. The tax cuts that she promoted benefited large corporate property owners
> way more than they benefited residents.
>
> The huge increases in tax revenues during her mayoral administration
> weren't enough to fund everything on her wish list though, borrowed money
> was needed, too. She inherited a city with zero debt, but left it with
> indebtedness of over $22 million. What did Mayor Palin encourage the voters to
> borrow money for? Was it the infrastructure that she said she supported? The
> sewage treatment plant that the city lacked? or a new library? No. $1m for a
> park. $15m-plus for construction of a multi-use sports complex which she rushed
> through to build on a piece of property that the City didn't even have clear
> title to, that was still in litigation 7 yrs later--to the delight of the
> lawyers involved! The sports complex itself is a nice addition to the community
> but a huge money pit, not the profit-generator she claimed it would be. She
> also supported bonds for $5.5m for road projects that could have been done in
> 5-7 yrs without any borrowing.
>
> While Mayor, City Hall was extensively remodeled and her office redecorated
> more than once.
>
> These are small numbers, but Wasilla is a very small city.
>
> As an oil producer, the high price of oil has created a budget surplus in
> Alaska. Rather than invest this surplus in technology that will make us energy
> independent and increase efficiency, as Governor she proposed distribution of
> this surplus to every individual in the state.
>
> In this time of record state revenues and budget surpluses, she recommended
> that the state borrow/bond for road projects, even while she proposed
> distribution of surplus state revenues: spend today's surplus, borrow for
> needs.
>
> She's not very tolerant of divergent opinions or open to outside ideas or
> compromise. As Mayor, she fought ideas that weren't generated by her or her
> staff. Ideas weren't evaluated on their merits, but on the basis of who
> proposed them.
>
> While Sarah was Mayor of Wasilla she tried to fire our highly respected City
> Librarian because the Librarian refused to consider removing from the library
> some books that Sarah wanted removed. City residents rallied to the defense of
> the City Librarian and against Palin's attempt at out-and-out censorship, so
> Palin backed down and withdrew her termination letter. People who fought her
> attempt to oust the Librarian are on her enemies list to this day.
>
> Sarah complained about the "old boy's club" when she first ran
> for Mayor, so what did she bring Wasilla? A new set of 'old boys'.
> Palin fired most of the experienced staff she inherited. At the City and as
> Governor she hired or elevated new, inexperienced, obscure people, creating a
> staff totally dependent on her for their jobs and eternally grateful and
> fiercely loyal--loyal to the point of abusing their power to further her
> personal agenda, as she has acknowledged happened in the case of pressuring the
> State's top cop (see below).
>
> As Mayor, Sarah fired Wasilla's Police Chief because he
> "intimidated" her, she told the press. As Governor, her recent firing
> of Alaska's top cop has the ring of familiarity about it. He served at her
> pleasure and she had every legal right to fire him, but it's pretty clear
> that an important factor in her decision to fire him was because he wouldn't
> fire her sister's ex-husband, a State Trooper. Under investigation for
> abuse of power, she has had to admit that more than 2 dozen contacts were made
> between her staff and family to the person that she later fired, pressuring him
> to fire her ex-brother-in-law. She tried to replace the man she fired with a man
> who she knew had been reprimanded for sexual harassment; when this caused a
> public furor, she withdrew her support.
>
> She has bitten the hand of every person who extended theirs to her in help. The
> City Council person who personally escorted her around town introducing her to
> voters when she first ran for Wasilla City Council became one of her first
> targets when she was later elected Mayor. She abruptly fired her loyal City
> Administrator; even people who didn't like the guy were stunned by this
> ruthlessness.
>
> Fear of retribution has kept all of these people from saying anything publicly
> about her.
>
> When then-Governor Murkowski was handing out political plums, Sarah got the
> best, Chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission: one of the few
> jobs not in Juneau and one of the best paid. She had no background in oil
> & gas issues. Within months of scoring this great job which paid
> $122,400/yr, she was complaining in the press about the high salary. I was told
> that she hated that job: the commute, the structured hours, the work. Sarah
> became aware that a member of this Commission (who was also the State Chair of
> the Republican Party) engaged in unethical behavior on the job. In a gutsy
> move which some undoubtedly cautioned her could be political suicide, Sarah
> solved all her problems in one fell swoop: got out of the job she hated and
> garnered gobs of media attention as the patron saint of ethics and as a gutsy
> fighter against the "old boys' club" when she dramatically quit,
> exposing this man's ethics violations (for which he was fined).
>
> As Mayor, she had her hand stuck out as far as anyone for pork from Senator Ted
> Stevens. Lately, she has castigated his pork-barrel politics and publicly
> humiliated him. She only opposed the "bridge to nowhere" after it
> became clear that it would be unwise not to.
>
> As Governor, she gave the Legislature no direction and budget guidelines, then
> made a big grandstand display of line-item vetoing projects, calling them pork.
> Public outcry and further legislative action restored most of these
> projects--which had been vetoed simply because she was not aware of their
> importance--but with the unobservant she had gained a reputation as
> "anti-pork".
>
> She is solidly Republican: no political maverick. The State party leaders hate
> her because she has bit them in the back and humiliated them. Other members of
> the party object to her self-description as a fiscal conservative.
>
> Around Wasilla there are people who went to high school with Sarah. They call
> her "Sarah Barracuda" because of her unbridled ambition and predatory
> ruthlessness. Before she became so powerful, very ugly stories circulated
> around town about shenanigans she pulled to be made point guard on the high
> school basketball team. When Sarah's mother-in-law, a highly respected
> member of the community and experienced manager, ran for Mayor, Sarah refused to
> endorse her.
>
> As Governor, she stepped outside of the box and put together of package of
> legislation known as "AGIA" that forced the oil companies to march to
> the beat of her drum.
>
> Like most Alaskans, she favors drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
> She has questioned if the loss of sea ice is linked to global warming. She
> campaigned "as a private citizen" against a state initiaitive that
> would have either a) protected salmon streams from pollution from mines, or b)
> tied up in the courts all mining in the state (depending on who you listen to).
> She has pushed the State's lawsuit against the Dept. of the Interior's
> decision to list polar bears as threatened species.
>
> McCain is the oldest person to ever run for President; Sarah will be a
> heartbeat away from being President.
>
> There has to be literally millions of Americans who are more knowledgeable and
> experienced than she.
>
> However, there's a lot of people who have underestimated her and are
> regretting it.
>
>
> CLAIM VS FACT
> *"Hockey mom": true for a few years
> *"PTA mom": true years ago when her first-born was in elementary
> school, not since
> *"NRA supporter": absolutely true
> *social conservative: mixed. Opposes gay marriage, BUT vetoed a bill that
> would have denied benefits to employees in same-sex relationships (said she did
> this because it was unconsitutional).
>
> *pro-creationism: mixed. Supports it, BUT did nothing as Governor to promote
> it.
> *"Pro-life": mixed. Knowingly gave birth to a Down's syndrome
> baby BUT declined to call a special legislative session on some pro-life
> legislation
>
> *"Experienced": Some high schools have more students than Wasilla
> has residents. Many cities have more residents than the state of Alaska. No
> legislative experience other than City Council. Little hands-on supervisory or
> managerial experience; needed help of a city administrator to run town of about
> 5,000.
>
> *political maverick: not at all
> *gutsy: absolutely!
> *open & transparent: ??? Good at keeping secrets. Not good at explaining
> actions.
> *has a developed philosophy of public policy: no
> *"a Greenie": no. Turned Wasilla into a wasteland of big box stores
> and disconnected parking lots. Is pro-drilling off-shore and in ANWR.
>
> *fiscal conservative: not by my definition!
> *pro-infrastructure: No. Promoted a sports complex and park in a city without
> a sewage treatment plant or storm drainage system. Built streets to early 20th
> century standards.
>
> *pro-tax relief: Lowered taxes for businesses, increased tax burden on
> residents
> *pro-small government: No. Oversaw greatest expansion of city government in
> Wasilla's history.
> *pro-labor/pro-union. No. Just because her husband works union doesn't
> make her pro-labor. I have seen nothing to support any claim that she is
> pro-labor/pro-union.
>
> WHY AM I WRITING THIS?
>
> First, I have long believed in the importance of being an informed voter. I am
> a voter registrar. For 10 years I put on student voting programs in the schools.
> If you google my name (Anne Kilkenny + Alaska), you will find references to my
> participation in local government, education, and PTA/parent organizations.
>
> Secondly, I've always operated in the belief that 'Bad things happen
> when good people stay silent'. Few people know as much as I do because few
> have gone to as many City Council meetings.
>
> Third, I am just a housewife. I don't have a job she can bump me out of. I
> don't belong to any organization that she can hurt. But, I am no fool; she
> is immensely popular here, and it is likely that this will cost me somehow in
> the future: that's life.
>
> Fourth, she has hated me since back in 1996, when I was one of the 100 or so
> people who rallied to support the City Librarian against Sarah's attempt at
> censorship.
>
> Fifth, I looked around and realized that everybody else was afraid to say
> anything because they were somehow vulnerable.
>
> CAVEATS
> I am not a statistician. I developed the numbers for the increase in spending
> & taxation 2 years ago (when Palin was running for Governor) from
> information supplied to me by the Finance Director of the City of Wasilla, and I
> can't recall exactly what I adjusted for: did I adjust for inflation? for
> population increases? Right now, it is impossible for a private person to get
> any info out of City Hall--they are swamped. So I can't verify my numbers.
>
>
> You may have noticed that there are various numbers circulating for the
> population of Wasilla, ranging from my 'about 5,000', up to 9,000. The
> day Palin's selection was announced a city official told me that the current
> population is about 7,000. The official 2000 census count was 5,460. I have
> used about 5,000 because Palin was Mayor from 1996 to 2002, and the city was
> growing rapidly in the mid-90's.
>
> Anne Kilkenny