NATIONAL BRIEFING

The husband of former GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has quit his oil field job on the North Slope.

Todd Palin’s resignation as a production operator for oil giant BP comes almost two months after his wife stepped down as Alaska governor and shortly before the release of her highly anticipated memoir in a deal rumored to be worth millions.

“Todd loved his union job on the Slope and hopes to return,” Meghan Stapleton, Sarah Palin’s personal spokeswoman, said in an e-mail. “For now, he is spending time with his family.”

The resignation was effective Sept. 18, according to BP spokesman Steve Rinehart.

In addition to working on the North Slope, Todd Palin is a commercial fisherman and for years has participated in the world’s longest snowmobile race, the Iron Dog. As the governor’s spouse, he was unofficially referred to as the “first dude” and also took part in official duties, such as hosting a tea for former first ladies of the state.

Todd Palin earned nearly $34,472 working part time last year for BP in Prudhoe Bay and about $51,679 in the family’s commercial fishing business, according to state financial disclosures. He also had $5,600 in snowmobile race winnings and an undisclosed discount on snowmobiles from racing sponsor Arctic Cat.