Local city races produce mixed results

Wasilla gets

new mayor

WASILLA -- Wasilla's mayor-elect Dianne Keller spent much of election day draped in a poncho standing and waving to passers-by at the intersection of Glenwood Avenue and Knik-Goose Bay Road. Later in the afternoon she moved to "Camp Keller," which was set up in the turnout along the Parks Highway just west of Seward Meridian. With just a few absentee and early vote ballots left to count, Keller became mayor of the city with 402 out of 877 votes. Her nearest competitor was Faye Palin, a retired Matanuska Telephone Association executive who recieved 256 votes. Mat-Su Borough Assembly member Dan Kelly recieved 179 votes.

"That was a soggy, lonely place," Keller said of the intersection, but she immediately took that back.

"It would have been lonely, except for all the people who stopped and talked to me and encouraged me."

That was Tuesday afternoon with two hours left before the polls closed. Many of the people who watch Wasilla politics had predicted a run-off election, but by then Keller was confident she would win. To avoid a run-off she needed 40 percent of the votes. When the preliminary counts came that night she had 46 percent. Keller said the drive-by honks and shouts of "I voted for you" were all she needed Tuesday to know she would win.

Keller was appointed to fill a vacancy on the city council in 1996. To retain the seat, she had to win in the 1997 October election. In 2000, she ran unopposed for council. She is active in the Republican party and identifies herself as conservative. Her husband David said that politics -- whether local, state or national -- is always a fair topic at the Keller house, and that the mayoral campaign was quite a bit different from the council campaigns.

"As far as running a campaign of this magnitude, a lot has changed for us," David said. David was assigned general errands for the campaign such as attaching yard signs to sticks and delivering signs.

"And support, because we had our tension moments," he said.

The mayor-elect and her husband both said the campaign hasn't changed Keller's politics. Keller said she was surprised by the number of people she met while campaigning who didn't know what day local elections took place, and by others who did not know Wasilla had a strong mayor rather than a city manager.

"I like the strong mayor form of government, because if I do a bad job it's easy to vote me out," Keller said. "But I don't think I can do a bad job because of the people we have in there. The staff is dialed-in."

1,008 of Wasilla's 4,164 registered voters turned out for the election, a 24 percent turnout.

Both Palin and Kelly said they also met a number of residents who didn't know about the Oct. 1 election. Kelly hadn't expected a run-off.

"I expected to win," Kelly said, just after recieving election results at city hall Tuesday night. The tally sheet showed him pulling just 179 votes for a third-place finish with 20.5 percent of the initial count.

"I'm absolutely surprised that it was so low," Kelly said.

On Wednesday morning, Palin said she hadn't predicted a run-off or a win.

"I had no idea. I really didn't," Palin said. "It certainly saves the city money that we don't have to go through that."

Palin said she would remain active in the comunity. As for learning along the campaign trail, she said she knows Wasilla better now.

"I know the neighborhoods far better, and I met some wonderful people. That's a positive thing," Palin said.

Palin also noticed something that is likely being noticed by politicians across the United States this year.

"I thought what was interesting was the number of doors that displayed the American flag and don't vote," Palin said. "I don't know what to make of that, I just thought it was an interesting observation."