Thompson challenges Daniels to disclose travel records

By ED RONCO, Tribune Staff Writer

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Story Created: Sep 8, 2008 at 1:19 PM EST

Story Updated: Sep 8, 2008 at 1:45 PM EST

SOUTH BEND — Gov. Mitch Daniels has until 10 a.m. Wednesday to publicly release his travel records before Jill Long Thompson asks the state inspector general to launch an investigation, the Democratic gubernatorial hopeful said here Monday.

Long Thompson issued the ultimatum about a week after her campaign called for the records to be open in reaction to a Fort Wayne Journal Gazette story on the governor’s travel.

That story reported that Daniels used state aircraft 61 times in 2007, sometimes for obvious state business — such as surveying disaster damage — and other times for things that seemed more political, such as flying from his West Virginia vacation home to present a trophy at an Indiana regatta, and to festivals and parades.

"We really can’t afford using public tax dollars for a governor to run a political campaign. Nor can we afford to provide vacation travel for our governor," Long Thompson said during a news conference at South Bend Regional Airport. "If there’s no wrongdoing, all he has to do is open the books and it will be clear."

Daniels’ office responds to any public records requests it gets, but so far one has not been received from the Long Thompson campaign, said Jane Jankowski, press secretary to Daniels.

The Journal Gazette’s records pertained to air travel and the records came from the state Department of Administration.

Traveling is just part of how Daniels does his job, Jankowski said.

"He’s been doing the same kinds of travel in 2005 that he’s done in 2007 and 2008," she said. "He’s somebody who’s taken a quite different approach to the office - he’s not somebody who governs from behind his desk."

For more on this story, please see tomorrow’s South Bend Tribune, and keep watching this Web site for updates throughout the day.

Staff writer Ed Ronco:
eronco@sbtinfo.com
(574) 235-6353

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