Amber McKenna

Editor in chief

Sophomore David Kellner-Rode never thought anything interesting would happen in his hometown. In fact, no one expected much of Wasilla, Alaska.
“We call it the itty-bitty-shitty city,” Kellner-Rode said. “It’s a nothing town with no city planning, but it’s in a beautiful location.”
That was before an unexpected spotlight shown on the town in the form of Sarah Palin, former mayor of Wasilla and Republican vice presidential candidate.
Kellner-Rode graduated from Wasilla High School before coming to Linfield last fall. Coincidently, he grew-up alongside Track Palin, 19, the oldest child of Alaska Governor Palin. The two boys were good friends in middle school and classmates in high school. Kellner-Rode said they never spoke of Palin’s career, namely because of their different political ideologies.
Kellner-Rode’s younger sister is a close friend of Bristol, Palin’s 17-year-old daughter. He said his sister was upset at the high media attention about her friend’s pregnancy.
Kellner-Rode said he thinks it is a shame Bristol and the baby’s father, Levi Johnson, are getting married because of the pregnancy.
“I went to high school with him,” he said. “He’s a redneck and a womanizer.”
As someone who has seen the family first-hand, Kellner-Rode said for a politician who is so big on family values, Palin was never at home.
Kellner-Rode said he sometimes felt like a minority as a Democrat in a Republican-dominated area. LaFrance, whose brother played hockey alongside Track, from Palmer, Alaska, a near by town of Wasilla, completely agrees.
“I wouldn’t vote Palin for governor of Alaska,” LaFrance said. “I won’t be voting for her for vice
president.”
“She’s the luckiest person in the world,” LaFrance said. “It’s like [Palin] stumbles into these things.”
As the result of another coincidence, Kellner-Rode is the nephew of California superdelegate to the Democratic National Convention Rachel Binah. It was through this family tie that Kellner-Rode had the opportunity to work as a page for Chairman of the Democratic National Committee Howard Dean at the convention last month in Denver, Colo.
The presence of many college-aged students and groups is something he said was impressive. Kellner-Rode described the DNC as a people-packed, whirlwind experience.
“I basically stood for seven days straight,” he said.
But all of the busywork was worth it for him.
“I got to stand near the podium when Biden made his speech, and I saw Will.i.am perform,” Kellner-Rode said. “Everything was really exciting.”
When it comes down to it, Wasilla is just Kellner-Rode’s hometown, and Track, who was deployed to Iraq on Sept. 11, is someone he knows and cares for.
“It’s scary having someone you know go to Iraq,” he said.
No matter the outcome of the election, Kellner-Rode said he does not think this will be the last the country hears of Palin.
“I think the Republicans have been grooming her,” he said. “She’s a rising star, like [Barack] Obama was four years ago.”
LaFrance said she thinks people are putting almost too much focus on Palin lately, when the true limelight of the election should be elsewhere.
“Voting for Sarah Palin is voting for [John] McCain,” she said.
Kellner-Rode said he predicts that after the election Wasilla will go back to being another unheard-of
Alaskan town.
“It’s for the better,” he said.