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Chiles flies on state planes for politics

 
Published Oct. 20, 1996|Updated Sept. 16, 2005

Max West has been chief of Florida's fleet of state airplanes for 23 years, and he says the law is clear:

A taxpayer-financed state plane cannot fly unless it is for official state business.

But this fall, Gov. Lawton Chiles has used state planes extensively for politics. He has been flying around Florida two to three days a week to help Democratic state House and Senate candidates and other political hopefuls, or attend Clinton-Gore events, state records show. The state plane he most often uses costs taxpayers $1,050 an hour.

Chiles, a lawyer, says he can use the state plane as long as the candidate he is stumping for, or the Democratic Party, pays the bill later.

But even his own staff isn't confident on that point.

"I think it's a gray area, and that's why we had a legal opinion done," said April Herrle, the governor's spokeswoman.

The Aug. 19 memo by the governor's office and a subsequent one amplifying it refer to the law that restricts political candidates from using state planes solely to further their candidacy.

The law allows candidates to reimburse the state at a higher rate if they end up campaigning during a trip on official state business.

But Chiles isn't a candidate this year, so the law doesn't directly apply to him, one memo said.

Additionally, Chiles wasn't even on state business when he took a state plane to Pensacola and Panama City Oct. 3 to stump for Richard "Beef" Haddad, a Democratic state Senate candidate in the Panhandle.

The governor's schedule shows only political events that day _ a downtown walk, a rally in the park, and a reception and fund-raiser for Haddad. Herrle acknowledges that no state business was conducted that day. The governor's office wants to be up front about the campaigning.

The office refuses to toss in public events to make the trips appear as state business that should be financed by taxpayers.

"We could make up pretend events _ we had that discussion," Herrle said. "Should we do that? No." Haddad will be billed for the trip, which cost about $1,575 for 90 minutes of air time.

But should the plane have gone up at all?

That's where Max West sticks by his guns.

"With our rules, you can't dispatch a state aircraft for campaigning, only for official state business," said West, chief of Florida's bureau of aircraft since 1973.

But his office asks no questions. Why? Officials who use the plane are responsible for following the rules, not West's office.

"If the governor's office calls and says do you have an aircraft, and we have an aircraft, we run it," West said.

Chiles, a University of Florida graduate, also took state planes this fall to watch the Gators play the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn., and the University of Kentucky in Gainesville.

Harold Lewis, the state's chief inspector general and close friend of the governor, accompanied Chiles to Knoxville on Sept. 21, but said he'll pay his share of the plane ride out of his own pocket when he gets the bill.

Doug Cook, secretary of the Agency for Health Care Administration, went with Chiles to the UF-Kentucky game on Sept. 28 and his office promised that he, too, would pay for the ride.

Chiles said he is on official state business at UF games. State rules allow him to bring passengers.

"I go as the governor of the state of Florida," Chiles said of the UF games as he was about to board a state plane last week for an education meeting in Fort Lauderdale.

After that meeting, he was scheduled to attend fund-raisers for Broward Sheriff Ron Cochran in Fort Lauderdale and state Senate candidate Don Delaney in Martin County.

There's nothing gray about what's going on, said Republican Party chairman Tom Slade.

"It's a blatant violation of Florida law," he said. It's no surprise Democrats are "hijacking a state plane for political purposes.

"They are in deep, deep trouble in the Legislature," Slade said.

This is a pivotal election year for Florida. Republicans control the Senate, 22-18, and are outnumbered only 63-57 in the House, and they're trying to take over the Legislature. If they win both chambers in November, Florida would be the only Southern state with a Republican-dominated Legislature.

As the state's top Democrat, Chiles is leading the fight to keep his party in power.

"I am campaigning for people I think will keep fighting for the programs I care about," Chiles said.

The governor's schedule and state airplane logs show that Chiles has attended political events on at least 14 days between Sept. 1 and Oct. 9, from fund-raisers for local and state candidates to events with President Clinton and Vice President Gore.

Among the trips:

Sept. 17. The governor took a state plane from Tallahassee to St. Petersburg, and spent all but about two hours on fund-raisers for State Reps. Lars Hafner, D-St. Petersburg; Mary Brennan, D-Pinellas Park; and Democratic state Senate candidate John Dicks of Plant City. He took two aides and an agent with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement with him. The flight was 45 minutes and cost about $735.

Sept. 18. A state plane flew with no passengers to Crystal River _ a cost of $315 _ to meet the governor, who was campaigning up U.S. 19. The governor attended a fund-raiser and breakfast for Brian Prescott, a Democratic state House candidate from New Port Richey. Later he attended a fund-raiser for State Rep. Helen Spivey, D-Crystal River. From there he took the plane to Orlando for state business, then flew back to Tallahassee. The return trip's air time cost $945. The governor also campaigned for state Rep. Debra Prewitt, D-New Port Richey, during the two-day trip, according to a memo from the governor's office.

Sept. 19. Chiles, two aides and an FDLE agent took a state plane to Daytona Beach at a cost of $840 for a day dominated by campaigning. He attended fund-raisers for Democratic state House candidates Janet Bollum of DeLand and Ted Doran of Daytona Beach. A governor's memo also indicates Chiles helped campaign for state House candidate Suzanne Kosmas of New Smyrna Beach. He returned to Tallahassee that evening, at a cost of about $945 for air time.

Sept. 25. Chiles flew to Orlando for state business, but left at 3 p.m. to go to a fund-raiser for state Sen. Rick Dantzler, D-Winter Haven. Scott Falmlen, executive director of Florida's Democratic Party, was on the state plane to Orlando as well as Lakeland, and returned to Tallahassee with the governor's group. Total state air time that day was $2,205.

Chiles could take a private plane or commercial flight on campaign trips, but a state plane is more convenient if he is summoned away for a state emergency, Herrle said.

The governor's office has not received a bill from West's office for the September and October trips. His staff will split the costs of those trips between the candidates. Any Clinton-Gore events attended by the governor will be billed to that campaign, Herrle said.

"We are trying so hard to make sure there is no possible way that taxpayers would ever bear the burden for this kind of travel," she said.

State business

State planes are supposed to be for official state business. But Gov. Lawton Chiles has been using them to campaign for legislative candidates this election year. The governor spent most of his time campaigning on Sept. 17, when he flew a state plane to St. Petersburg.

Tuesday

September 17

10:45-11:40 a.m.: Takes off for St. Petersburg

12:00-1:30 p.m.: Lars Hafner fund-raiser

2:30-3:30 p.m.: Tour firehouse cops program with Mayor Greco

3:30-4:30 p.m.: Personal time

5:00-6:15 p.m.: Mary Brennan fund-raiser

6:45- 8:00: John Dicks fund-raiser

9:00 p.m.: New Port Richey for overnight stay

Source: Governor's office