Sarah Palin first made history on December 4, 2006, when she was sworn in as the first female and youngest governor of Alaska. In August 2008, Senator John McCain tapped Palin to serve as his vice-presidential running mate in his presidential campaign, making her the first woman to run on the Republican Party's presidential ticket.
In Alaska, her top priorities included fiscal restraint, limiting the size of government, resource development, education, equitable oil valuation, and transportation and infrastructure development. Palin fought for ethics reform and transparency in government.
Palin has a long record of achievement and experience in public office. Prior to her election as governor, she served two terms on the Wasilla City Council and two terms as the mayor of Wasilla. During her tenure, she reduced property tax levels while increasing services and made Wasilla a business-friendly environment, drawing in new industry and making it the fastest growing city in Alaska. She was elected President of Alaska's Conference of Mayors.
Under her leadership as governor, Alaska invested $5 billion in state savings, overhauled education funding, reformed the state's employee pension program, and protected Alaska's natural resources. She created Alaska's Petroleum Systems Integrity Office to provide oversight and maintenance of oil and gas equipment, facilities, and infrastructure.
A proven fiscal hawk, Palin cut state spending by nearly 10 percent while also reducing federal earmark requests by more than 80 percent. She used her line-item veto to cut more than a quarter billion in wasteful spending - the largest veto cuts in the state's history.
During Palin's first year in office, three of her administration's major proposed pieces of legislation passed: an overhaul of the state's ethics laws, a competitive process to construct a natural gas pipeline, and a restructuring of Alaska's oil valuation formula.
To eliminate waste and make government more accountable and transparent, Palin sold the governor's private jet, eliminated the governor's private chef, increased accessibility to the governor's office, and put the state's checkbook online.
Palin is past chair of the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, a multistate government agency that promotes the conservation and efficient recovery of domestic oil and natural gas resources while protecting health, safety, and the environment. She also served as chair of the National Governors Association (NGA) Natural Resources Committee, which was charged with pursuing legislation to ensure state needs are considered as federal policy is formulated in the areas of agriculture, energy, environmental protection, and natural resource management.