Palin opposed bar closing plan

WASILLA, Alaska, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, as a city official in Alaska, opposed a clergy-backed plan to move up closing time for bars, a minister said.

Palin was a city councilor in Wasilla when she opposed a plan, backed by the police chief, to shorten the traditional 5 a.m. last call by a few hours. The Rev. Gene Straatmeyer told the Chicago Tribune Palin spoke against the proposal in 1996 and lectured him for supporting it.

"She said, 'I go to Assembly of God Church and I am a Sunday school teacher there and I see no relationship between my Christian faith and what hours the bars close,'" said Straatmeyer, who now lives in Texas. "She felt it was out of line for me to testify on behalf of the church groups I represented."

Irl Stambaugh, the police chief at the time, wanted bars to close earlier to help cut down on drunk driving and spousal abuse, the Tribune reported Sunday.

When Paling ran for mayor in 1996 she was supported by tavern owners. Campaign records show that two of them alone provided 15 percent of her campaign cash, the newspaper said.

Within months of taking office as mayor, Palin fired Stambaugh, the Tribune said.