Palin's ‘new course' bodes well for state

Throughout her political career, Sarah Palin has been well-positioned to benefit from being an outsider. From her first run for elected office 14 years ago to her latest and biggest electoral victory, she has championed change, new ideas and new ways of thinking about

government.

A supplement inserted in this edition of the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman honors Palin, who is set to take the oath of office and officially begin her service as Alaska governor Monday in an inauguration ceremony in Fairbanks. We hope readers will find it interesting and informative.

One thing we know they will find is the recurring theme of change over the course of time for the former Wasilla mayor and city council member.

In her first run for office in 1992, when she was elected to a council seat, Palin wrote, in a candidate questionnaire for this newspaper, &#8220Wasilla is not progressing, and our city is going to left behind if we don't elect forward-thinking officials to generate and act upon fresh new ideas.”

Four years later, during her first run for mayor, Palin campaigned on a strikingly similar theme: &#8220So many agree there needs to be a change,” she said at the time. &#8220They're saying this city needs new ideas and a fresh perspective on these issues. I've got that.”

As she busied herself making Cabinet appointments last week, she said something that struck another familiar chord: &#8220It's time that everybody's working together in order to progress the state. … We really need to grow up and grow together in order to meet some of the challenges that are facing Alaska.”

In the 14 years that have passed between the first and last statements, much has changed. The underlying sentiment expressed may be the same, but the times and the contexts of the statements are both very different.

In the intervening years, Palin has watched her party rise to prominence in state government, then get caught up in a cycle of partisanship and power preservation that has deflected it from its course of putting the interests of Alaskans first. A Republican through and through, she still has not been bashful about calling party leaders out on these missteps.

It's part of her present appeal - to people of all political stripes.

That appeal comes from her follow-through and her record of doing more than just talking. It is this record that Alaskans should hang their hopes on as Palin is sworn in as governor Monday.

&#8220People all over Alaska are ready for a new course, a different type of government,” Palin said after her victory in the Republican primary in August.

We couldn't agree more.

Monday's inauguration in Fairbanks will be history-making for several reasons: Palin is the first Alaska woman elected governor, the youngest Alaskan to be elected governor, and the first governor to call Mat-Su home. But with all the political potential Palin has shown, the most notable historical milestones still await the new governor - and all Alaskans.