For Palin, A Picture of Wooten Is Worth A Thousand WordsHere’s a funny note from the report that brings home the depths of Sarah Palin’s antipathy toward Mike Wooten:
Shortly before the annual celebration of Police Memorial Day on May 15, 2008, Commissioner Monegan had dropped off a color photograph at Governor Palin’s Anchorage office with a request that she sign and present it at the ceremony. The photograph was of an Alaska State Trooper who was dressed in a formal uniform, saluting. He was standing in front of the police memorial located in front of the crime lab at AST headquarters in Anchorage, partially obscured by a flagpole. The picture to be signed by the Governor was to be used as a poster to be displayed in various Trooper Detachments around the state.Shortly after he returned to his office from dropping off the photograph, he received a call from Kris Perry, Governor Palin’s Director of her Anchorage office who asked [according to Walt Monegan’s testimony] “Why did you send a poster over here that has a picture of Mike Wooten on it?” Until that moment, Commissioner Monegan never realized it was indeed a photograph of Trooper Wooten. Governor Palin cancelled her appearance and sent Lieutenant Governor Parnell in her place.
Monegan’s eventual replacement as Public Safety Commissioner, Charles Kopp, testified that Palin aide Frank Bailey later called him and told him the administration was thinking about replacing Monegan as commissioner. When Kopp asked why, Bailey cited the incident with the Wooten photograph as one reason, among several, for the governor’s displeasure with Monegan.