Early Political Career of Sarah Palin - First Term As Mayor

First Term As Mayor

Upon taking office in October 1996, she began to make staffing changes. She eliminated the position of museum director and asked for updated resumes and resignation letters from Wasilla police chief Irl Stambaugh, public works director Jack Felton, finance director Duane Dvorak, and librarian Mary Ellen Emmons. She temporarily required department heads to get her approval before talking to reporters, stating they first needed to become better acquainted with her policies. As promised during her campaign, she reduced her own salary by 10%, from $68,000 to $61,200; she also reduced her workload by hiring a new City Administrator. By 1999, the City Council had raised her salary back to $68,000. In her first term, state Republican party leaders began grooming her for higher office.

Her first months in office were so rocky that there was talk of a recall attempt in 1997, which fizzled. Her recollection was that she "grew tremendously in my early months as mayor". Palin would gain favor with Wasillans. She kept a jar with the names of Wasilla residents on her desk, and once a week she pulled a name from it and picked up the phone. She would ask: "How's the city doing?"