Palin didn't sell state jet on eBay as implied

WASHINGTON -- One of the most compelling anecdotes in Sarah Palin's repertoire is that she auctioned off the Alaska governor's jet on eBay after taking office -- a swift move made by a reformer hoping to clean up the excesses of her predecessor.

But in fact, the jet did not sell on eBay. It was sold to a businessman from Valdez named Larry Reynolds, who paid $2.1 million for the plane, shy of the original $2.7 million purchase price, according to news reports at the time. Reynolds contributed to Palin's campaign in 2006.

What happened? It appears that, as she promised during her bid for governor, Palin did try to sell the plane on eBay, but there was only one serious bid, in December 2006, and it fell through. The Westwind II was sold about eight months later.

But that hasn't stopped Palin, or McCain, from implying -- and, Friday, claiming outright -- that Palin sold the jet on the Internet.

"You know what I enjoyed the most? She took the luxury jet that was acquired by her predecessor, and sold it on eBay -- and made a profit!" McCain declared in Wisconsin at a campaign stop Friday.

The video tribute to Palin that aired at the Republican National Convention on Thursday night made the same claim.

Palin herself, in her convention speech accepting the nomination for vice president, gave a version closer to the truth but still left the impression the jet was sold in a public transaction. "That luxury jet was over the top. I put it on eBay," Palin said.

"She put the plane on eBay," Tucker Bounds, McCain's spokesman, said Friday. "It didn't meet the minimum threshold the state desired, so they used a broker. She sold the plane and saved the taxpayers money."

It remains unclear just who brokered the sale of the jet. According to a contemporaneous account in the New York Times, Dan Spencer, the director of administrative services for Alaska's Public Safety Department, said it was the Republican speaker of the Alaska House, John Harris. Other local accounts suggested that an aviation brokerage firm took the lead.

About one-third of Alaskans live in towns and communities have no access to roads, making a plane for the governor's use a key asset.

However, many Alaskans resented former governor Frank Murkowski's purchase of the jet, which was largely unusable on many of the state's rural landing strips, some of which have gravel runways.

When Palin sold the jet, that left her with access to a 26-year-old turboprop aircraft that was due for an overhaul. Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan said he ordered the older airplane rehabilitated and offered to purchase or lease a new plane or lease in the interim. Ultimately, the governor waited until the older plane was overhauled.