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.
