And now, the rest of the story
Posted on Sunday, January 28, 2007
The Democrat-Gazette has some
great journalists and writers
who do their jobs
professionally and competently. They have a task to do, and even when I don’t always enjoy the result, I do respect that their job is to find facts, verify them, put them into context, and present them to the reader for judgment. Two recent stories by Seth Blomeley, in the Jan. 19 th and 20 th editions of the Democrat-Gazette, however, are misleading if not dishonest, and have led to columns and comments elsewhere. Stories regarding the gubernatorial transition are nothing short of an attempt to create an impression of wrongdoing when in fact what should be reported is the extraordinary manner in which we went out of our way to accommodate the transition to the new administration. For example:
1. Janet and I vacated the Governors Mansion almost two weeks before our official “eviction” in order to allow the Beebes time to prepare for their residency. We did this despite the fact that Janet was recovering from double knee replacement surgery and gallbladder removal. We worked diligently to insure that the Beebes had access to whatever they needed to make the move smoother than we had experienced. Stories in the Arkansas Times that said “furniture was missing” were proven to be false when everything was found in the inventory.
2. We gave the Beebe Chief of Staff Morril Harriman and his team total access to our employees, offices, etc., to measure for office space and interview those they might wish to keep on staff.
3. Any stories that reported we removed my personal office furniture fail to mention I came into an empty office and had to furnish it. The Beebe team was aware the furniture in my personal office would not be left and he already planned to bring his own.
4. The infamous “destruction of the hard drives” is the standard operating procedure recommended by the Department of Information Services, or DIS, and is listed on the state Website as the recommended way to dispose of a hard drive. This practice was instituted a few years ago when DHS computers were recycled and a reporter was able to extract personal information about DHS clients from what was thought to be an erased hard drive.
For the reporter to ask the prosecut- ing attorney about the “legality” of our destruction of hard drives, implies there was criminal activity involved. We gave the Beebe administration valuable records and databases that would help for a smooth transition, such as records of boards and commissions and the budget. That is far more than we received in 1996.
5. These two stories in the print version of the newspaper, as opposed to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Website that the reader was referred to, report the $ 50, 000 we used from the emergency fund for transition, but fail to report that half of that was allocated to the new administration for their transition expenses. We met all legal requirements on leaving a budget for the new administration. There were comments from current officials that we had “spent all the emergency funds right in the midst of the storm season.” These statements were made by people who are familiar with the state budget and should know that the fund from which we spent is not the fund used for natural disasters. That is a separate fund and there is about $ 9. 5 million in the actual disaster fund.
6. The sound and lighting equipment mentioned in stories was provided from campaign funds and not a state funded purchase. Had it been, I’m sure it would have been reported that we spent state money improperly to fund our communications office ! We actually left things in the office that didn’t have to be left, like a podium and some sound equipment that we could have lawfully taken.
7. As for my reaction to having my telephone and Blackberry cut off on December 23, I think the story by Jeff Hankins in Arkansas Business was far more realistic. It showed an understanding that it would be totally unacceptable to be going into a holiday weekend in which inclement weather was probable without having the capacity to communicate. What would have been reported if we did have an ice storm, but I failed to send the emergency response personnel because I “couldn’t be reached ?”
I was also expecting to hear from a major industry about an important step in the recruitment of what would be the largest industry in the state’s history. We had repeatedly asked that certain phones and Blackberrys be kept live so we could maintain a functioning office until the end.
Not only was my phone disconnected, but the equipment including state troopers’ ? e-mails at the Governor’s Mansion was also turned off. For this to be turned off on Christmas weekend was especially unacceptable.
I believe that I left the office with much greater consideration for my successor than when I stepped into office. We worked to accommodate the new governor in every way by providing assistance and information as well allowing the installation of new computers and phones in advance of his taking office so he could hit the ground running the day of his swearing in. From the office and the Governor’s Mansion, every effort was made to make for a smooth transition. The attempt to distort the truth regarding this is not only unfortunate, but terribly misleading to the good people of this great state whom I love, respect, and sought to serve honorably for the
1 10 / 2 years I was governor.
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