Fleet+of+vehicles,+including+for+wives+of+Corbett+and+Lt.+Gov.,+raises+questions

= Practice what you preach, Gov. =

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=//Published in the Altoona Mirror//= =//6/12/11//= = = =Gov. Tom Corbett is in for a bumpy ride after it was revealed that - despite earlier administration denials - state police purchased four new vehicles to transport the governor, lieutenant governor and their wives.= =Corbett had campaigned last year on cutting the state's automobile fleet that totals nearly 17,000 vehicles as a cost-saving measure.= =Now apparently the fleet has grown by four, at a time in which Corbett keeps saying money is tight.= =News of two new $53,000 Chevrolet Suburbans for Corbett and Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley and two new $40,000 Chevrolet Traverses for transporting their wives comes after months of denials about the vehicle purchases.= =The Patriot-News of Harrisburg broke the story last week.= =While spending about $185,000 on four new vehicles during a time of planned budget cuts is sure to raise some eyebrows, the most troubling aspect may be how long it took for all of this to come out.= =For months, Capitol reporters have been asking about rumors of new vehicles.= =Corbett's spokeswoman and the governor himself denied knowledge of the new vehicles. Capitolwire reports that Corbett said on March 30 that: "The SUV you see me driving today is the same car Gov. Rendell had" as a backup vehicle.= =Ironically, that was the same day that the Executive Service Section picked up the new Suburban used by the governor. The state police said Monday that the new vehicle used by Cawley was placed in service three days earlier.= =So was this an intentional misrepresentation, or was Corbett poorly served by his staff who failed to keep him in the loop?= =The Associated Press reports Corbett said that he did not request the new vehicles and left the matter up to his state police commissioner to decide about vehicles for the state's top leaders and their wives.= =It's reasonable to expect that at some point with age and high miles, it's going to make sense to replace vehicles. In normal times, such a purchase might not get a lot of notice.= =However, these are far from normal times for nearly all levels of government.= =Corbett - correctly in our opinion - has been preaching the need for fairly serious budget cuts, including advocating pretty big reductions in education funding.= =That gives the story on buying new vehicles added traction and likely upsets residents who want to see more restraint for Harrisburg.= =If new vehicles were needed, it would have been better for state officials to be upfront about the need before they were ordered, rather than waiting for about two months after the vehicles are put in service to finally release the details.= =It also would have been more politically astute to look at swapping the vehicles out over time rather than doing four at once.= =Were all four really critical purchases immediately, or did someone just want new vehicles in conjunction with the new administration?= =According to reports, the vehicles were ordered in January.= =When the media started asking questions, the responsible people in the administration should have make sure the governor's office had the correct information.= =Because that apparently didn't happen, Corbett's critics have new political ammunition, and the governor has egg on this face.= =As attorney general, Corbett projected the image of a straight shooter, but it seems like his administration's aim has been off the mark too often.= =Corbett needs to get his staff on target.= =Otherwise, the next three and a half years won't be a pleasant ride for Corbett, despite his new $53,000 SUV.=

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