THE ISSUE: Gov. Sanford's use of state planes

OUR OPINION: Records call governor’s trips into question, point to need for stricter enforcement regulations

As a conservative, Gov. Mark Sanford has taken extra heat for personal problems. Some would say his extramarital affair classifies him as a hypocrite.

Yet this governor made his name more on fiscal than social conservatism, which makes the latest revelation about Sanford more disturbing on its face.

The Associated Press investigated records of Sanford’s use of state-owned and operated aircraft and found numerous instances of questionable travel. The AP documented a number of trips in which Sanford appears to have traveled for personal or partisan reasons, not state business.

State law limits use of state planes specifically to official business. It’s hard to envision dispatching a state aircraft to Myrtle Beach to pick up the governor for a return flight to Columbia and a hair-styling appointment as official business.

AP cited other examples:

n A flight to Bishopville where a Sanford son was playing football. After the game, the plane flew the governor to Charlotte, N.C., for a commercial flight to Texas for a meeting of GOP donors.

n A flight to Mount Pleasant for a book signing, after which the plane took the governor to Aiken for a party for a business owner who was a Sanford campaign donor.

n Flights on five Thanksgiving weekends from the family’s plantation in Beaufort County to Columbia for the Governor’s Carolighting Ceremony.

We note the final example specifically because it illustrates an important point. The lighting of the state Christmas tree can be classified as state business. And while the other examples appear to show no official business being conducted, it must be noted that Sanford has never been one to outline an official schedule. Only since his admission to being absent from the state to see a woman in Argentina has the governor taken to providing a detailed schedule of activities.

Sanford’s ex-spokesman Joel Sawyer defended the flights, saying Sanford has used state planes less than his predecessors. He also said the governor’s schedule does not reflect all his official activities. “The governor’s schedule is not reflective of everything he’s doing that day.”

He said the AP examination of flight records is “continued cherry picking” at Sanford.

This governor brought the scrutiny on himself with the controversy about his trip to Argentina and the untruths surrounding his whereabouts then. Examination of his travel and communications records is natural in the wake of questions raised by lawmakers, both Republican and Democrat.

And in the face of questions about the thoroughness of a State Law Enforcement Division investigation of Sanford’s trip to Argentina and matters linked to his admitted extramarital affair, there is certain to be renewed calls for a legislative probe. Following the AP report on plane use, Sen. Vincent Sheheen, a leading Democratic contender for governor, wasted no time in calling for an investigation by the Senate Transportation Committee. Even with Democrats in the Senate minority, there may be enough support to make it happen.

If or when it does, the conclusion is likely to be that the governor’s plane trips are questionable but can be defended in much the same way other governors have mingled private and political priorities with official business.

What is really needed is a tightening of the rules on flights and stricter enforcement of the regulations, whether the flights are the governor’s or any other official’s.

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