Mass State Police Helicopter,
taking a break from shutteling the Governor to work.
"Air Deval" is devoted to serving the "whole state".
Deval says copter at his
service: Officials say he will use pricey mode of transit as he sees fit
By Dave Wedge
Boston Herald Chief Enterprise Reporter
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Throwing caution to the political wind, Gov. Deval Patrick
is hopping state police helicopters for beat-the-traffic trips, and aides
say he’ll keep using the taxpayer-funded chopper chauffeur despite
his predecessor Jane Swift’s public slapdown for similar flights.
“The state police helicopter is there for his use when he needs
it for official business,” said Patrick spokeswoman Cyndi Roy.
“The governor during the campaign pledged to be governor of the
entire state,” she added. “He’s not going to be a governor
who sits in his office on Beacon Hill.”
Patrick used the State Police Air Wing on Jan. 17 after touring the Massachusetts
Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams. The governor, who had been
in office only two weeks, had the chopper fly him from North Adams to
Boston so he could attend swearing-in ceremonies for Auditor Joseph DeNucci
and Treasurer Tim Cahill.
Last week, Patrick used the helicopter again, taking a round trip to Hyannis
for the funeral of a Centerville soldier killed in Iraq. He took the chopper
because he had to be back in Boston for afternoon budget meetings, Roy
said.
Asked about Patrick’s policy on using the expensive mode of transportation,
Roy said: “When schedules are tight and he has official business
in various regions of the state, then we’ll evaluate on a case-by-case
basis whether he should use the helicopter.”
On Jan. 17, the chopper was summoned from Westover Air Base in Chicopee
to airlift Patrick to Boston from North Adams after an 8:30 a.m. meeting
and tour of the museum. The governor was the only passenger, according
to state police records. The North Adams museum is 135 miles from Boston.
Two state police pilots were also on board the flight, which used 100
gallons of jet fuel. Helicopter gas prices usually range from $2.50 to
$4 per gallon, but the cost of Patrick’s trip was not immediately
available.
Former acting Gov. Swift came under fire in 2000, when she was lieutenant
governor, for having state police fly her home to the Berkshires for Thanksgiving
at a total cost of $1,000. Ethics officials cleared her of any wrongdoing,
but the ill-advised chopper ride caused her political image to crash.
Former Gov. Mitt Romney used the state police helicopter just once during
his four-year term for a flight over Boston Harbor with public safety
officials to view an LNG tanker fuel delivery, Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom
said.
“Every governor is different,” Fehrnstrom said. “Generally
speaking, Gov. Romney used the helicopter in connection with homeland
security or disaster relief, but not as an ordinary means of transportation.”
Barbara Anderson, spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Taxpayers Association,
said the museum event and swearing-in ceremonies were not of “benefit
to the taxpayers” and questioned Patrick’s liberal policy
on using the gas-guzzling aircraft.
“Apparently he’s going to appreciate the perks of the office
more than the Republican governors did,” Anderson said.
