Alan Greenblatt is a GOVERNING correspondent.
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The New York Times offers an examination of Sarah Palin's record as mayor of Wasilla. The upshot of their account is that she succeed in cutting taxes, but brought a new level of partisanship to local politics.
Anti-abortion fliers circulated. Ms. Palin played up her church work and her membership in the National Rifle Association. The state Republican Party, never involved before because city elections are nonpartisan, ran advertisements on Ms. Palin's behalf.
...
"Sarah comes in with all this ideological stuff, and I was like, 'Whoa,' " said Mr. Stein, who lost the election. "But that got her elected: abortion, gun rights, term limits and the religious born-again thing. I'm not a churchgoing guy, and that was another issue: 'We will have our first Christian mayor.' "
Dianne Keller, Palin's successor as Wasilla mayor, told reporters yesterday, "The process for running the city of Wasilla is probably much like the process for running our country."

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