Worst deputy since Barney Fife

Colleen Sullivan-Leonard, the Deputy Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska is aghast that her boss would take his responsibilities to the taxpayers seriously;

The sale on eBay of a city-owned vehicle used by Sarah Palin when she was mayor of Wasilla is causing a stir in small-town politics: One official says the current mayor is trying to fatten city coffers off Palin's fame, and the mayor says "guilty as charged."

The city of Wasilla, north of Anchorage, auctioned off a 1999 Ford Expedition with 74,188 miles used by Palin before she became a household name. A Fairbanks woman won the SUV on Nov. 27 with an online bid of $10,300, about $8,000 above its estimated value.

Mayor Verne Rupright said the intent was to use the profits to replenish the city's vehicle replacement fund.

The DM warns that there might be more money out there;

"I feel like it's unfortunate the mayor would try to capitalize on Sarah Palin's fame and her reputation," Sullivan-Leonard said, adding she felt $8,000 "was above and beyond what the city coffers would need."

...."Down the line, maybe the mayor's got some tables and chairs that Sarah Palin used he wants to put on eBay?" she said.

If there is, the mayor is happy to honor his oath of office;

Rupright, speaking to The Associated Press by telephone from his office, said he was sitting on a chair the city bought for Palin when she was mayor.

"It's getting a little old and dirty," he said. They might get $10 for it at a secondhand store, or a Palin fan might pay $200 for it because she once sat in it.

"Somebody might find some value in it," Rupright said. "If you can get some dollars back for it, you should try, in my mind. That's just business." 

Actually, it's his job.