9:40 am on Wednesday April 21, 2010
| Posted by Ken Hawkins
Flights, disappearance land Mark Sanford on worst Governor list
The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has formulated a list of the nations worst governors. And surprise: Gov. Mark Sanford made that list along with 10 others.
Named were Gov. Haley Barbour (R-MS), Gov. Donald Carcieri (R-RI), Gov. Jim Gibbons (R-NV), Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA), Gov. David Paterson (D-NY), Gov. Sonny Perdue (R-GA), Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX), Gov. Bill Richardson (D-NM), Gov. Mike Rounds (R-SD), Gov. Mark Sanford (R-SC), and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA.)
Crew describes itself as a non-partison non-profit dedicated to exposing public officials that "sacrifice the common good to special interests."
Cited as reasons for Sanford's appearance on the list:
- Abused his office for his personal benefit and the benefit of his friends
- Violated campaign finance laws by failing to report in-kind contributions and improperly converting campaign funds for personal use
- Subordinated his responsibilities to his pursuit of an extramarital affair
- Endangered his state’s economy by threatening to refuse stimulus funds
The group also pointed out these stats:
- Number of days Gov. Sanford claimed to be hiking the Appalachian Trail: 5
- Number of days Gov. Sanford actually spent hiking the Appalachian Trail: 0
- Number of times Gov. Sanford used South Carolina’s state planes for personal purposes, including attending a birthday party for a top supporter, a theme park opening and a haircut appointment: 9
- Number oftimes Gov. Sanford has flown business or first class at taxpayer’s expense: 18
- Minimum number of times Gov. Sanford flew on private jets between January 2004 and December 2008: 78
- Number of those flights Gov. Sanford disclosed as in-kind gifts: 17
Read the group's full set of worst gov's and analysis over here (Sanford starts at page 30.)