Yes, a candidate should have a record. I challenge all potential candidates to match this. To be fair and give other candidates a fair chance, I did not include her achievements as a Council woman or Mayor, though these achievements must be duly noted by all. Besides, I was getting tired from typing.
Here’s our Candidate’s Record…Governor Sarah Palin
You will notice she serves for the people; she prioritizes, cutting taxes, building surpluses and savings, then appropriates to programs that help education, seniors, and children with special needs!
- 93% Historic High approval rating
- Cut State Spending 9.5% 2007 to 2010
- Reduced Federal Earmarks 80%
- Invested $5 billion dollars State Savings
- Overhauled Education Funding
- Implemented Senior Benefits Program
- Used her authority to Line item VETO to cut superfluous spending in 2007
- Used her authority in 2008 to VETO 361 line items to reduce $80.3 million in proposed spending in 2009
- Cut SPENDING more than 33% in FY 2010 from FY 2009’s Budget
- Signed energy legislation suspending the state motor fuel tax
- Signed legislation opposing a Federal Aviation fuel tax
- Lowered unemployment insurance tax rates (2 years in a row)
- Reformed State Pension program resulting in decreasing debt liabilities by 34%
- Her fiscal policies were responsible for Credit upgrade from AA to AA+ in April 2008 (Standard and Poor)
- Her fiscal policies were responsible for Credit upgrade from AA+ to AAA in November 2010 (Moody’s)
- Accumulation of multiple budget reserves equal to more than 200% of the general fund budget due to Legislation like ACES
- $12 Billion dollars in savings due to ACES and a $5 Billion dollar surplus
- Spent less on travel expenses than her two predecessors despite having a larger family. $913 Thousand less her first two years than Murkowski did his last two years
- She rejected a gubernatorial pay raise
- Signed ACES, a net tax on oil profits passed in a bipartisan manner and transparency. Constituents had 17 days to read a draft of the bill before legislators discussed it
- Record number of oil jobs in each year from 2007, when ACES was implemented, to 2009
- Number of Oil companies filling taxes with the state doubled between 2006 and 2009 due to ACES
- Natural resources and logging jobs increased 13.7% during Palins tenure
- Introduced the Alaska Gasoline Inducement Act (AGIA) in March 2007. Passed the Legislature in huge bipartisan manner by a vote of 57-1 in May 2007
- Served as Vice Chair of the National Governors Association
- Served as the Natural Resource Committee and Chairman of the Interstate Oil & Gas Compact Commission
- Chair, Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission
- Alaska was 2nd in job growth compared to all other states during her leadership
- Alaska was 3rd in the nation in terms of change in the unemployment rate relative to the national average
- Alaska saw record number of oil jobs in both 2008 and 2009.
- Cut business license fees in half during her tenure
- Alaska moved up from the 4th most business tax friendly state to the 3rd most business
- friendly state during her tenure
- Signed legislation allowing Alaska-based businesses the same opportunities as our of state businesses, within Alaska
- Alaska’s exports grew to a record high $4 Billion in 2006, a 12.6% increase
- Alaska’s exports for 2007 reached $3.9 Billion, the second best year for exports
- Fought for and signed sweeping BIPARTISAN Ethics legislation which restricted lobbyists, improved disclosure laws, and improved executive and legislative branch ethics laws
- In the face of corruption Gov. Palin took on her own party
- Gov. Palin opened up natural gas pipeline deals to all potential parties
- Gov. Palin DID NOT ALLOW lobbyists in her office
- Forward funded EDUCATION to allow districts greater flexibility.
- Supported increased vocational training and early education funding
- Offered to PERSONALLY TALK to students considering dropping out of school
- Opened up opportunity to Alaskan students to participate in regional medical school
- Increased overall funding for SPECIAL NEEDS EDUCATION 175%
- Increased funding for the Alaska Youth Challenge Academy 18.8% in her first year in office
- Gov. Palin’s FY 2008 Capital budget included $2.5 Million for special needs housing which included $250 Thousand for SPECIAL OLYMPICS facility upgrades
- Introduced health care TRANSPARENCY LEGISLATION to provide consumers factual information on QUALITY and COST to make better informed decisions
- Recognized that healthcare must be MARKET AND BUSINESS driven, rather than RESTRICTED by Government
- Proposed repeal of Certificate of Need- A layer of bureaucracy that prevents medical facility development
- ESTABLISHED the Alaska Health Strategies Planning Council in the Office of the Governor
- REDUCED Medicaid assessments for Seniors, those who are disabled and those who are ill by 83% of her predecessor
- EXPANDED Alaska’s Senior benefits program even signing emergency authorization between the legislatures general and special sessions
- Joined multi-state amicus brief authored by the state of Texas in support of the 2nd Amendment right of individual Americans to bear arms
- Life member of the National Rifle Association
- Chose to monitor rather than participate in national standards for education noting state and local standards and accountability are better
- Transitioned responsibility for the quality of Alaska water resources from Federal to STATE CONTROL
- Commander in chief of National Guard and also the Alaska State Defense Force
- Shared STRATGIC COMMAND over the 49th Missile Defense Battalion of the Alaskan National Guard which is on permanent duty
- Gov. Palin was briefed on highly classified military issues, Homeland Security, and Counterterrorism
- Supports both parental notification and parental consent laws for abortion
- Supported state constitutional amendments or legislation that would have stated abortion is not a right & made coerced abortion a crime
- Signed the “Safe Haven” bill into law
- Extended the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault
- Made it Mandatory that the governor and the Board of Parole to work together to ensure any decision on clemency is based on a thorough review of the case and made in deference to victims and their families
- Expanded Alaska Homeless Council
- Directed multi departmental effort to improve aviation safety
- Signed aviation, consumer protection legislation
By Wayne Mazza: Full List Governor Palin Accomplishments & Views on Issues