Palin Describes Her Job As Mayor as "Not Rocket Science"

In the following article Alec MacGillis of The Washington takes a close look at Sarah Palin's role as Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska. 

excerpt from
As Mayor of Wasilla, Palin Cut Own Duties, Left Trail of Bad Blood
- washingtonpost.com

Palin says her time as mayor taught her how to be a leader and grounded her in the real needs of voters, and her tenure revealed some of the qualities she would later display as governor: a striving ambition, a willingness to cut loose those perceived as disloyal and a populist brand of social and pro-growth conservatism.

But a visit to this former mining supply post 40 miles north of Anchorage shows the extent to which Palin's mayoralty was also defined by what it did not include. The universe of the mayor of Wasilla is sharply circumscribed even by the standards of small towns, which limited Palin's exposure to issues such as health care, social services, the environment and education.