Published: September 09, 2008 11:10 pm         

Long Thompson takes aim at Daniels’ travel records

Gov’s staff calls efforts a ‘political stunt’

TERRE HAUTE — A request for records involving the governor’s use of a state plane and other vehicles is being called “doing the right thing” by his opponent and a “political stunt” by the governor’s staff.

Jill Long Thompson, the Democratic candidate for governor of Indiana, hosted a news conference Tuesday at Terre Haute International Airport-Hulman Field to reiterate a public request for access to Gov. Mitch Daniels’ travel records and employees’ e-mail.

She alleges that trips to out-of-state vacation homes and political fundraising events were spent with taxpayer dollars.

She also questioned whether other state vehicles and personnel were used for campaigning purposes.

“To use tax dollars for personal purposes, to use tax dollars for vacation purposes, is completely unacceptable,” she said, using the term “unconscionable” many times.

Long Thompson said she issued a media release Monday morning requesting the information, in addition to requests made publicly last week.

She added that if she is not given the information by 10 a.m. today she will file a public information request with the state.

“I wanted to give him plenty of notice,” she said of the 48 hours.

As of Tuesday afternoon, she said she has heard “not a thing. I haven’t heard a thing.”

But Jane Jankowski, spokeswoman for Gov. Daniels’ office, called the media conferences “a political stunt” and denied ever being asked for the information by Long Thompson.

“She hasn’t asked for them,” Jankowski said. “There’s been a lot of rhetoric and news conferences and media releases,” but the first time the governor’s office knew of her request was through the media, she said.

Jankowski said the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette requested flight logs and other information pertinent to the usage of state vehicles and planes and noted that the information was provided them and detailed in an article published last week.

“Governor Daniels has never used the state plane solely for a campaign or political event,” she said.

One trip of concern to Long Thompson involves Daniels’ use of the plane to fly back to Indiana from a vacation home he owns in West Virginia.

Jankowski said “that was state business,” stating that Daniels left a vacation early to present the governor’s cup at a regatta in Madison.

“This governor travels,” she said. “He’s accessible. He’s out from behind his desk talking to Hoosiers all over the state.”

Jeff Harris, a spokesman for the Long Thompson campaign, said the Journal Gazette looked only at flight logs but the campaign wants full disclosure of all involved state employees’ and campaign workers’ e-mail and phone records for the periods in question.

“We also want to get a better grasp of how many political trips he made and how much it cost,” he said, noting Long Thompson’s campaign will ask Daniels to reimburse the state for those expenses.

Harris said Long Thompson has made the request publicly through the media release.

“We sent out a press release last week and Jill publicly asked the governor to provide these documents on his own,” he said. “We shouldn’t have to file a formal request for something this large,” he said, adding that a detailed list of information requested will be made to the governor’s office today at 10 a.m. through a public information request if it has not been received by then.

In addition, the campaign will file a complaint with the state’s Inspector General asking it to launch an investigation into Daniels’ use of state resources, the release states.

“I think we’ve been pretty explicit in what we’ve wanted,” he said.

Jankowski said the information is public record and is available, but a request does need to be made with regards to the specific data.

“The governor has followed the prescribed policy in terms of how he’s used the state plane,” she said.

Brian Boyce can be reached at (812) 231-4253 or brian.boyce@tribstar.com.