Sarah Palin vows to end good-old-boy politics in Washington, the same kind of politics the Republican vice presidential nominee seems to have enjoyed as a small-town mayor in Alaska.

An Associated Press investigation has found that two months before Palin's tenure as mayor ended in 2002, she asked municipal planning officials to forgive zoning violations so she could sell her house.

She frequently accepted gifts from local merchants and helped friends, neighbors and campaign contributors with issues at City Hall.

Soon after her election as mayor, she cast the tie-breaking vote to propose an aircraft tax exemption that would benefit her father-in-law.

And she asked the council to consider looser rules for snow machine races. Palin and her husband, Todd, a champion racer, co-owned a snow machine store at the time.