Sarah Palin: Governor of Alaska

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin was born Sarah Louise Heath in Sandpoint Idaho on February 11, 1964. Sarah's family moved to Alaska when she was an infant. Her parents were avid outdoor enthusiasts with a strong commitment to family. Sarah used to hunt moose with her father and likes to eat moose burgers.

Sarah attended Wasilla High School in Wasilla, Alaska, where she was Point Guard for the basketball team. She was head of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, a not-for-profit, interdenominational, school-based sports organization and was the leader of prayer before games. She earned the nickname "Barracuda" due to her intense basketball play. Sarah participated in beauty contests and won Miss Wasilla in 1984. Later that year she competed in the Miss Alaska pageant and came in second.

Sarah graduated from the University of Idaho with a bachelor of arts degree in Communications in 1987. She minored in politics. She returned to Alaska and worked as a sportscaster.

Sarah married Todd Palin, a lifelong Alaskan, who is part Yupik Eskimo. The couple met in high school. Todd Palin is a commercial fisherman and the couple fishes together. The Palins have three daughters and two sons.

Their youngest son, Trig Paxson Van Palin, was born with Down's Syndrome in April 2008 while Sarah was serving as governor of Alaska. The Palins did not give in to pressure to abort their baby even though they knew that he would have special needs. After his birth, they released a statement which said that they felt privileged that God had entrusted them with the gift of their special baby.

Sarah and Todd's oldest son, Track Palin, enlisted in the Army in 2007 on the 6th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks. Track is scheduled to go to Iraq in September.

Political Background of Governor Sarah Palin

Before being elected as the Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin served on the Wasilla City Council from 1992 to 1996. She was also the Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska for two terms starting in 1996. She was elected as President of the Alaska Conference of Mayors. She has served as Chairman of Alaska's Oil and Gas Conservation Commission and the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission and as chair and co-chair of the National Governors Association (NGA) Natural Resources Committee.

Palin was elected Governor of Alaska in 2006. At the age of 42, she was the youngest person and the first woman to serve as governor in the state of Alaska. Since she has been governor, her top priorities have been education, workforce and energy development, transportation, infrastructure and public health and safety.

Sarah Palin has a history of cutting taxes. While she served as Mayor, she lived up to her campaign promises by reducing property taxes by 60% as well as reducing her own salary.

As governor, Palin used her veto power to cut $231 million of the construction budget, the second-largest cut in state history, reducing the construction budget to about $1.6 billion. She also vetoed $10 million for the expansion of the Port of Anchorage but approved $10 million for environmental studies for an extension of the Alaska Railroad to Port Mackenzie. She has vetoed money for energy projects such as the Fire Island wind project and funds to restart the Healy Clean Coal Project.

Governor Palin is strongly pro-life. She opposes gay marriage, although in December 2006, she vetoed a bill which sought to block the state from giving benefits to same-sex partners of public employees. This was the first veto of her administration as governor.

Governor Palin is a lifetime member of the NRA and supports the right to bear arms.