Keller's campaign manager appointed to council

WASILLA -- The Wasilla city council appointed one of mayor Diane Keller's campaign volunteers to fill the council seat Keller vacated when she was elected mayor last month. Diana Straub served as campaign manager for Keller this summer, a position Keller said was unpaid and that Straub volunteered for.

As mayor, Keller runs the meeting but doesn't have a vote in the appointments to fill vacant council seats. Keller said Wednesday that Straub was an important part of the mayoral campiagn.

"Had it not been for [Straub], I would not have been able to run the the race I did," Keller said.

Straub and three other applicants sat for brief interviews with the five incumbent council members before the council voted on the matter at its meeting on Monday, Oct. 28. Despite her obvious connection to Keller, Straub told council members that she would bring a new perspective to the table.

"I would have some fresh ideas, just in that I don't have a long political experience," Straub said.

Her work on Keller's campaign put her in touch with a lot of voters, Straub said, adding that police patrols and pavement were frequent topics during her door-to-door canvassing.

"We heard a lot of 'There's too much speeding in our neighborhood,'" Straub said. As for pavement, Straub believes some neighborhoods might not have had a chance to be involved in previous projects and that the city could work to provide more local improvement district (LID) projects. She also talked about thickening traffic -- not surprising coming from a 15-year area resident.

"That's L.A. traffic. That's New York traffic. That's not what you expect to see in our small town," she said.

Straub also said she was interested in opportunities for youth. She is a mother of three and said her father once owned a roller skating rink. She's excited about the Valley Lanes bowling center, which has plans to re-open this winter.

The conversation didn't shed much light on Straub's political philosophy, but according to the Alaska Public Offices Commission she contributed $495 to former Wasilla mayor Sarah Palin's campaign for lieutenant governor in December 2001.

Perhaps more light was shed on how Straub approaches issues when she talked about her experience marketing Mary Kay cosmetics -- a business in which participants are referred to as "independent consultants" and don't work as employees.

"One of the things you'll hear me say as you get to know me is 'Who made that rule? When was that rule made? And does it still apply?'" Straub said.

The council used a preferential ballot to select Straub. The ballots were tallied by city clerk Kristie Smithers and finance director Ted Leonard. Smithers destroyed the ballots after the meeting.

Keller also announced that she had selected council member Howard O'Neil to serve as deputy mayor. O'Neil is an independent auto mechanic with a shop at his home. Keller said that because O'Neil spends his work day in Wasilla he would be readily available for the job.

"He will be able to step-in in my absence and fulfill any duties that I can't," Keller said.