'First Dude' Todd Palin Illustrates Alaska's Blend of Private and Public

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Todd Palin Through the Years

An in-depth look at Todd Palin, husband of Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin.

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From 1994 to 2002, records show, he was a registered member of the Alaskan Independence Party, whose primary aim is to seek a vote on whether Alaska should remain a state.

AIP officials say Palin's involvement was limited to attendance at the party's 1994 convention in Wasilla. Doyle Holmes, a hardware store owner who co-chaired the party in 1994, said the convention featured the usual debate over how explicitly to present the independence plank, but he could not recall Palin taking a strong stand. "There's one group that wants [secession] left in the platform and another that wants to tone it down a bit," he said. "Things can get pretty hot."

One Republican from the Mat-Su Valley, who has known the Palins for years but did not want to be identified for fear of repercussions, said Todd Palin's politics over the years have amounted to advancing his wife's career. The Republican recalled that when Willis Lyford, an Anchorage media consultant, told Palin she wasn't ready to run for governor -- a scene recounted in Kaylene Johnson's biography of Sarah Palin -- Todd Palin "blew up."

"He's not political. He's Sarah-oriented, and believes she can do anything -- more than she does," the Republican said.

After Sarah's election as governor, Todd Palin took a leave from his job with BP to avoid a conflict of interest. That gave him more time to help her settle in. Travel records show that he made frequent trips from Wasilla to Juneau and, in total, has run up about $19,000 in travel costs. Among the listed purposes for his trips were meetings about mansion renovations; the Palins wanted to make the house suitable for family visits, although they opted not to live there full time.

Todd Palin took an interest in vocational education and job creation, and he went with Labor Commissioner Click Bishop to tour the Red Dog and Donlin Creek mines, courtesy of the mine owners. Hard-rock mining is a booming industry in Alaska, but it is controversial because of concerns that tailings from the mining could pollute local waters.

Although Stapleton said she is not aware of Todd Palin's informal lobbying on state fisheries issues, lawmakers say he has talked with them about the contentious issue of how to apportion dwindling salmon stocks. His family fishing operation, which last year earned him $47,000 through salmon sales to Peter Pan, a large fish operation, gave him a special perspective. Gov. Palin also appointed one of her husband's fellow Bristol Bay setnetters to the state Fisheries Board.

Todd Palin also has taken interest in issues that affect friends in the Mat-Su Valley, where the Palins live, notably the fight to save the state's half-dozen dairy farms. The overseers of the state-owned dairy that bought milk from valley farmers announced in June 2007 that they would shut it down because it was losing money.

Todd Palin maintained a presence in Gov. Palin's subsequent intervention. She replaced the chief executive and the two boards overseeing the dairy and kept it running long enough for a private dairy to open.

Todd Palin appeared at meetings of the new Creamery Board, and, according to several people involved, at one point called the local Teamsters chapter, which represented dairy employees and had to fend off suggestions by farmers who wanted to cut worker pay to lower costs. Kristan Cole, a Palin friend appointed to head the new Creamery Board, said last week that Todd Palin's role was not significant.

The dairy's workers remember him most vividly as the protective husband who showed up with the governor for a tour, trailed by news media, aides and security guards. Workers told her that food safety regulations forbade her entourage to enter in the absence of the CEO, who was away for a meeting.

Ray Penamora, a gallon-filling machine operator, watched Todd Palin -- not an aide or security guard -- step up to settle the dispute. "He was amazed that they don't let her in," said Penamora. "He said, 'Why not?' "