Former Residents Enthusiastic About VP Candidate

By LAURA M. RECKFORD
Many have heard that Governor Sarah Palin, the Republicans’ much-scrutinized vice presidential candidate, has an 80 percent approval rating among her constituents in Alaska.
But when pressed for details, what do Alaskans have to say about Governor Palin?
Two Falmouth High School graduates from the Class of 1986 who now live near Wasilla, Alaska, have nothing but good things to say about the governor.
“I do think she’s doing an awesome job,” Brenda (Burkhart) Johnson, an unenrolled voter, said by phone from Alaska. “She would make a wonderful vice president, bringing a working woman’s voice to the administration.”
Ms. Johnson and her husband, Troy Johnson, moved to Wasilla six years ago when Mr. Johnson was in the Army and stationed at Fort Richards in Anchorage, for which Wasilla is a suburb.
He now works full-time as a staff sergeant for the Alaska Army National Guard. He is the son of Kenneth S. and Rosemary Johnson of Arlington Street, North Falmouth.
Ms. Johnson works for a non-profit disability agency and independent living center. She is the daughter of Betty J. Lynch and the stepdaughter of Kevin K. Lynch Sr., who live on Milton Street, Teaticket.
Wasilla is a fast-growing city that now has a population of about 9,000 in the south central part of Alaska.
Ms. Johnson said she and her husband, who both grew up in Falmouth, miss their home town. But they like Wasilla very much.
“It’s a very beautiful place to live. We’re surrounded by mountains. It’s very green in the summer and we’re very close to the ocean and 45 minutes from Anchorage,” she said.
Ms. Johnson explained that what is unusual in Alaska is that towns do not border each other but instead have vast tracks of land between them. So there are many people, like the Johnsons, who live outside the city but who travel into Wasilla for work or shopping. The Johnsons live in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough about a mile and a half from the Wasilla city limits.
Ms. Johnson quickly corrected any common misunderstandings about Alaska, saying with a laugh, “We don’t live in igloos and get snow 24/7. It’s not permamently dark.”
Ms. Johnson said most people imagine that Alaska is cold all the time, but that is also not true. But when it does get cold, it gets really cold—she remembers one time when it was 25 below, so cold the car’s thermostat could not measure it.
There is also abundant wildlife. Ms. Johnson said she saw a moose running in her yard a couple days earlier.
The Johnsons have three children, Olivia, 13, who was born in Falmouth; Betty, 7, who was born in Georgia; and Kristofer, 5, who was born in Alaska.
Like other Alaskans, they had heard rumors that Gov. Palin was on Senator McCain’s short list, but the announcement earlier this month still came as a big surprise.
Ms. Johnson said when she first heard the news about Gov. Palin, “I thought it was fantastic. I think Governor Palin is an excellent governor. I think she’s done a lot for Alaska.”
Before Gov. Palin came into power, Ms. Johnson said, Alaskan politics seemed to be run by “the good old boys.”
Now it feels like that group is less powerful. “You don’t feel the good old boy network. You see some changes,” she said.
Before becoming governor, Sarah Palin served two terms as mayor of Wasilla, so the Johnsons were able to observe her governance at close range.
“She was a very popular mayor and did a good job,” Ms. Johnson said.
In the small town of Wasilla, the governor and her family are easily recognized and Ms. Johnson ticked off some recent connections.
Gov. Palin’s youngest daughter, Piper, was in Ms. Johnson’s daughter Betty’s class last year. The governor also visited Betty’s class and presented them with some books.
The Johnson family saw the governor in person recently at an annual city picnic.
Gov. Palin’s father was a substitute teacher in Ms. Johnson’s older daughter’s class and is “an awesome teacher,” Ms. Johnson said.
On the media flap about Gov. Palin’s discomfort with a certain book in the Wasilla Library, Ms. Johnson said she knew nothing about it. Likewise for other Palin issues that have received media attention, like the incident regarding Gov. Palin’s desire to fire a state trooper, who was also her brother-in-law. At the mention of “troopergate,” Ms. Johnson laughed and said, “You hear about it once in a while.”
One thing Ms. Johnson said locals have noticed is the media poking around Wasilla. “The press is really digging for information,” she said.
Mr. Lynch in Falmouth, referring to his daughter and son-in-law, said Alaskan residents have positive feelings about government that could come from the fact that they receive large checks annually. Alaskan residents do not pay state taxes, though some towns do have a city tax that is voted in by the residents of the city.
For example, while residents of the city of Wasilla pay a city tax, those who live outside the city limits “in the bureau,” like the Johnsons, do not.
Ms. Johnson admitted, “It’s great to live in a state where you don’t pay taxes.”
As for those checks, they are the “permanent fund dividend,” known as the pfd, which are royalties from the Alaskan pipeline profits that have been invested and that are divided annually among all residents that meet certain criteria and apply for the money, Ms. Johnson explained.
The “dividend” is a permanent payment, though because it is based on the stock market, the exact number changes a bit every year and the governor announces what the exact amount will be. This year, it is $2,069.
In addition to the pfd, Gov. Palin this year included an energy relief fund, an additional amount of money, $1,200, given to every resident to take into account the rising price of gas.
So the combined amount from the two funds per Alaskan resident this year is $3,269, or for the five-menber Johnson family, about $16,000 for this year, a very healthy “dividend” indeed.
When the checks are sent out, Ms. Johnson said there is a flurry of spending. “You see all the dividend sales this time of year,” she said.