Romney Flew With Health Execs on Corporate Jet to GOP Meetings
Boston Globe
December 2, 2005
By Glen Johnson
Gov. Mitt Romney and his top advisers flew to California this week on a corporate jet owned by a leading pharmaceutical firm, as he and the Legislature consider enactment of a universal health insurance law the governor labels one of his top priorities.
Also aboard the aircraft Tuesday were three representatives for Pfizer Inc., owner of the $40 million Gulfstream V. They included a top government relations official at New York-based company, one of its New England lobbyists and a Republican media consultant from Boston who represents the company.
Romney's trip included a three-day meeting of the Republican Governors Association at a resort north of San Diego, during which he was elected the group's chairman for the next year.
"The RGA furnished the plane and followed all applicable rules and guidelines," said Romney spokeswoman Julie Teer, who confirmed the passenger list.
Under federal campaign finance law, a corporation such as Pfizer can provide the use of an aircraft to a political group such as the RGA, so long as it calculates the full cost of the trip, and the recipient discloses it to the Internal Revenue Service as an in-kind contribution.
However, public interest groups took a dim view of the arrangement, given the legislative situation on Beacon Hill. The health care bill is in a House-Senate conference committee and Romney has argued for passing a final bill by Jan. 16. Among the proposals being discussed is an expansion of Medicaid, something Pfizer has favored.
"I think that the governor, in that situation, could certainly have better judgment than to fly on a corporate jet owned by a drug company. It may be perfectly legal, but it doesn't seem to pass the smell test," said Bob Williams of the Center for Public Integrity.
Earlier this week, the Washington-based government watchdog published a report highlighting corporate jet use by White House aides.
"It's not like there aren't other ways he could have gotten to this conference that wouldn't have presented this conflict," Williams said.
Joined by Beth Myers, the governor's chief of staff, and other aides, Romney and the Pfizer representatives made a 5 1/2-hour flight from Logan International Airport to John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, Calif.
The governor's first stop was a political fund-raiser in nearby Newport Beach, followed by the meeting with other Republican governors.
Romney refused to speak to an Associated Press reporter inquiring about the flight as he left an RGA meeting Friday morning. A half-hour later, he walked to a clambake thrown in his honor, escorted by a Pfizer official he met at the company's hospitality suite.
On Wednesday, at the start of an interview before the travel arrangements became clear, an AP reporter asked Romney how his flight had been the prior evening.
"Good. Got here quickly," he replied, before steering the conversation toward the fund-raiser. It was held on behalf of Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas, who is up for re-election next year.
Besides Romney, Myers and Teer, those on the flight were Eric Fehrnstrom, the governor's communications director; Spencer Zwick, who runs his political and philanthropic office; and a Massachusetts State Police trooper assigned to Romney's protective detail.
Teer said she, Myers and Fehrnstrom used vacation days to make the trip.
Representing Pfizer on the flight were Bill Smith, a company government relations official who formerly worked in the Weld administration; Andy Antrobus, a former Cellucci administration spokesman who is now a Pfizer New England lobbyist; and Rob Gray, a former Weld spokesman who is now chief political adviser to Romney's running mate, Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey.
A Pfizer spokeswoman in New York asked to research the matter before offering comment. The company, with annual sales of $53 billion in 2004, makes such drugs as Viagra, Lipitor and Celebrex.
Pfizer has lobbied states to expand enrollment in Medicaid, the federal health insurance program for the poor. The program buys drugs from the company. Massachusetts is considering a Medicaid expansion as part of its health care overhaul.
Teer refused to answer any other questions, including whether any lobbying was done on the flight, why Romney took the jet instead of a commercial flight and whether the acceptance of the ride created a conflict of interest for the governor.
One Los Angeles-based aircraft service charges $7,200 per hour to charter the G-V, meaning a flight similar in length to Romney's would cost $39,600. The cost could increase if the plane returned to the East Coast empty, or if it had to make a ferry flight to Boston of any length.
Williams, the analyst at the Center for Public Integrity, said: "(Romney) is basically putting himself in a position, whether there is a real conflict or not, there certainly should be some questions raised."
Pam Wilmot, executive director of Common Cause Massachusetts, agreed, saying, "There's almost no circumstances where taking a corporate jet is an appropriate thing for an elected official to do.
She added: "It gives an appearance of a conflict on interest given the health care debate and the thriving biotech industry in the state."