Palin steps down as Alaska gov.; her plans unclear

FAIRBANKS, Alaska — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has resigned from office.

She is turning over power to Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell.

In a farewell speech Sunday in Fairbanks, she warned against big government but gave few clues about her long-term political plans.

Palin was a relative political unknown a year ago when Republican presidential candidate John McCain selected her to be his running mate. The partisan election created problems for Palin when she returned to Alaska.

Her once congenial relationship with lawmakers soured, and Palin became the target of nearly 20 ethics complaints.

She cited the resulting investigation’s financial toll as the main reason she was quitting 17 months before her term was complete.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin steps down Sunday giving few clues about a political future clouded by ethics probes, mounting legal bills and dwindling popularity.

A few things are known: She is scheduled to speak Aug. 8 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California, and has said she plans to write a book, campaign for political candidates from coast to coast and build a right-of-center coalition.

She also plans to continue speaking her mind on the social networking site Twitter.

Friend and foe alike have speculated that Palin may host a radio or TV show, or launch a lucrative speaking career. Her political action committee, SarahPAC, has raised more than $1 million, said Meghan Stapleton, a spokeswoman for the committee and the Palin family.

Stapleton disputed the notion that Palin is running for president or has media deals lined up.

“I cannot express enough there is no plan after July 26. There is absolutely no plan,” she told The Associated Press. “The decision (to quit) was made in the vacuum of what was best for Alaska, and now I’m accepting all the options, but there is nothing planned.”

Palin’s surprise announcement July 3 that she was stepping down 17 months before the end of her first term pushed her favorability rating down to 40 percent, according to a Washington Post-ABC poll. Fifty-three percent of those polled gave her an unfavorable rating.

Last summer, almost six in 10 Americans viewed her favorably. The latest poll was taken from July 15-18.

Nearly 20 ethics complaints have been filed against Palin, and the outgoing governor has cited the resulting investigation’s financial toll — both on her and the state — for stepping down.

Palin is handing over the governor’s office to Lt. Gov Sean Parnell at the Sunday afternoon picnic in Fairbanks. Parnell, 46, of Anchorage, has promised to push many of Palin’s initiatives, including controversial terms to build a natural gas pipeline.

“Sean knows he has big high heels to fill,” said Mark Lewis, moderator of a farewell picnic hosted by Palin on Saturday in Anchorage, the state’s largest city.

Before her farewell speech, Palin served food to residents for about 90 minutes Sunday at Pioneer Park in downtown Fairbanks, where thousands gathered on a hot day.

Among those present was Donna Michaels, 57, of Fairbanks, who wore a red T-shirt that said: “Palintologist.”

The T-shirt defined a Palintologist as “someone who studies Palin and shares her conservative values, Maverick attitude and American style.”

Michaels also held a poster board sign showing the front page of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner when Palin announced she would resign. Michaels altered the banner headline “Palin steps down,” replacing the last word with “up.”

“She’s really not stepping down. She’s stepping up to do something bigger and better,” said Michaels, who attended the picnic with her daughter and two granddaughters, one of whom who wore Sarah Palin-style eyeglasses.

Larry Landry, 51, of Fairbanks held up a red, white and blue said that read, “Quitting: the new American value.” The other side read: “Thanks for the laughs.”

Landry, a registered independent, said he respected Palin when she ran for governor in 2006, but she changed during last year’s presidential campaign.

“She turned into a vicious vixen,” he said. “She descended into ugly, divisive politics.”

Alaska’s first female governor arrived at the state Capitol in December 2006 on an ethics reform platform after defeating two former governors in the primary and general elections. Her prior political experience consisted of terms as Wasilla’s mayor and councilwoman and a stint as head of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.

Unknown on the national stage until Republican John McCain tapped her as his running mate, Palin infused excitement into the Republican’s presidential bid. But she also became the butt of talk-show jokes and Democratic criticism, especially after the Republican Party spent $150,000 or more on a designer wardrobe for Palin.

Former state House Speaker John Harris, a Republican with sometimes chilly relations with Palin, said he thinks Palin will run for president in 2012, but said he has no inside information.

Stapleton said the answer will emerge in the coming weeks.

On Monday, “we’ll sit down and say, ‘OK, here are your options. How do you now want to effect that positive change for Alaska from outside the role as governor?’” Stapleton said.