Wasilla council could donate ‘mayor mobile’ profit

WASILLA — Proceeds from the online sale of what’s been called Sarah Palin’s “mayor mobile” may go to help feed the hungry, not bolster the city’s general fund.

That was the thought behind a proposal Wasilla City Councilwoman Colleen Sullivan-Leonard brought to the council on Monday. The deputy mayor said she received support from her colleagues on the council to donate any money over $2,300 raised from selling the 1999 Ford Expedition.

“I think when it was first advertised, we were wanting to sell it above and beyond the Blue Book price,” Sullivan-Leonard said. “I wasn’t comfortable with the extra dollars going back into city government.”

The city put the gold SUV on the online auction site eBay.com on Nov. 18 with the auction set to expire at midnight, Wednesday. The minimum bid was set at $10,000, more than four times the estimated Kelley Blue Book value of $2,100 to $2,300, depending on condition.

Mayor Verne Rupright said Wasilla can raise more money to put back into city coffers for vehicle maintenance by selling the vehicle through an online auction.

The city purchased the vehicle new in 1999, and Palin “had that for the rest of the time she was mayor, so we look at it this way,” Rupright said. “When you stop and think of who drove that, … why not get the biggest bang for the dollar for the city?”

That’s one way to look at it, Sullivan-Leonard said. But in the big picture, she said cashing in on Palin’s celebrity isn’t appropriate.

“You’re reaping a benefit based solely on Sarah Palin’s notoriety, and that just wasn’t comfortable for me,” she said.

Instead, Sullivan-Leonard has proposed donating anything more than the actual value of the vehicle to charity. She said she picked the Mat-Su Food Bank in Wasilla to receive the possible windfall.

“When you look around and see all the great charities out there, what could be the most far-reaching?” she said. “I think this is very timely and very far-reaching.”

That may be true, Ripright said, but he sees some potential problems with giving away that money. One is that usually, nonprofit organizations seeking funding from the city have to go through a formal process of requesting a grant or donation. Earmarking these “found dollars” without giving others a chance to weigh in on it could “open the floodgates” for random requests for city funding, he said.

“It’s extremely nebulous,” Rupright said. “The council hasn’t weighed in on this yet and two of them already told me they didn’t agree to that. … Before you start expending taxpayers’ dollars — I’d have to say first, Wasilla food pantry didn’t even ask for it. I’m a little bit troubled when you give away public money and it might be politically motivated.”

Sullivan-Leonard has announced her plans to run for Wasilla mayor when Rupright’s term is up in 2014.

Rupright defend the decision to pursue the highest return from the city owned vehicle.

“I haven’t heard a word about this from the Palins or anyone,” he said. “I haven’t heard of her being offended.”

With only a few hours left in the auction Wednesday afternoon, Palin’s former ride had generated four bids, the highest at $10,300.

That means if the council approves the proposal at its Dec. 9 meeting, the food bank would receive at least $8,000.

Coming on the heels of the holiday season, that donation would be very welcome, said Eddie Ezelle, executive director of the Mat-Su Food Bank.

“That would be a wonderful little shot in the arm,” he said. “That would be great, because along about January and February is our leanest time. Between Christmas and people getting into their taxes, it can get a little lean.”

That money would be put to good use, he said. One potential use would be to help supplement the food bank’s Food 4 Kids program, which provides lunches for children.

“Keeping kids fed is very important,” Ezelle said.

Contact Greg Johnson at 352-2269 or greg.johnson@frontiersman.com.