Live blogging Flowers/El Somnambulo on Al’s show
I missed Flowers this AM, but I’ll be putting my comments and observations in the comments section.
Connect
Connect with us on the following social media platforms.
I missed Flowers this AM, but I’ll be putting my comments and observations in the comments section.
Connect with us on the following social media platforms.
National news feed on now.
Flowers is still on. Al asking directly about where he was. Oh… the day the photo wasn’t posted the same day.
“We landed on a glacier. Me Erika and 12 other passengers.”
I have to say, Flowers is pretty slick at explaining.
What??? You can’t post on Facebook from a location? Denali National Park has cell coverage:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120512230942AA5rij4
My sister Has a prepaid phone from H20 that she got from http://prepaidfreephones.com She was in Denali about 2 months ago for a visit, and she made a call to us as well, she had no complaints. I would think that ATT would probably be the best though.
I get the feeling that Flowers can muddy the water enough to get past this. Can he get elected to a higher
office? That’s another question.
Agreed.
What this situation calls for is a statewide cutback on agency junkets along with new regulations, not the the politics of personal destruction on an individual. Has anybody looked at the travel expenses of the Governor’s people? Or Education? The NJ’s and Finance’s receipt-reading skills are surely honed to their peak by now, so go get ’em. Doesn’t anybody find it odd that the machinery of the executive (and its lapdog newspaper) are all focused on a political irritant of the executive?
The thing is that if Chip had been paying attention to Ms. Benner’s credit card reconciliations — as in not approving football tickets in Boston — he never would have gotten this scrutiny by the Dept of Finance. It was clear that it was Chip’s receipt-reading skills that were the problem, and apparently still are.
The odd thing is how sloppy Flowers has been. Again, since his job deals with dealing with the state’s money – it isn’t odd at all to ask if his money handling skills are top notch.
When the initial stories came out about Benner using her credit card to go to a ball game, Chip Flowers was very quick to put out a statement saying that “the majority” of charges occurred while Benner was dating Rep. Trey Paradee, implying that the Rep. was complicit and part of the misspending of funds by Benner.
…and while Rep. Paradee may have some issues relating to Ms. Benner ending their relationship, we are not going to direct state resources to achieve personal actions against former individuals involved a relationship. Rep. Paradee should be grateful for our professionalism since a majority of Ms. Benner’s credit card transactions occurred while the two were dating (using the date he referenced in this blog).
Also odd that his conference would have a bus tour to Denali during the week. It really does take a few hours to drive from Anchorage to the park. I think that they probably did a drive to one of the lookouts along the way, rather than the park. On the other hand, if you are in Talketna, Denali scenic views can be had at a bunch of points up the Susitna River.
Well, how about some practical ideas for good governance reform, rather than just providing a platform for a stream of snide remarks on Flowers’ character? Were any laws violated yet? I don’t think so, especially since the money was paid back fairly quickly.
The only way to put this to rest is for Flowers to release all documentation of all Treasury Department expenses during the Alaska trip, and any documentation needed to get that reimbursement check from NAST. For someone handling the state’s investment portfolio, his office does a horrible job of accounting for expenses.
Puck it took 10 months for reimbursement.
I thought the problem was in Boston and now it turns out it’s in Alaska? This is just like Whitewater.
Please. That’s a dem version of Godwin’s law.
Anonymous banking sources. 🙄
*This* is why Government officials at risk for CoI issues need to do their business in their offices.
The problem was in Boston when Flowers could point his finger at another elected official and imply that the other elected official was involved in Benner’s personal spending with the state credit card.
Keep trying; you’ll get the Road Runner one day!
Flowers needs to release all of his 2012 state credit card expenditures and all of Benner’s 2012 & 2013 credit card expenditures. He also needs to release all documentation relating to his NAST reimbursement, since that reimbursement came 10 months after the Alaska trip, and since there were other trips taken in that 10 month period (i.e. Pittsburg).
There is nothing Flowers has put forward to date that shows the NAST reimbursement was for Alaska.
he extended the trip to meet with banks but won’t name the banks?
Was hoping Al would get him on the record about whether or not he was actually at the same Patriots/Cowboys game that Erika used her state credit card to buy tickets for… He has largely dodged and avoided that question, saying she took a family member, but inquiring minds want to know if he was actually there, in the stadium that day, too.
Maybe Al can ask him next time.
El Som sums up my feelings. Flowers fast talking was fast. The loose ends keep multiplying though.
the “excess of caution” defense as to why he can’t name the banks was the excuse from kookyville.
A caller now asks, Flowers says people are trying to destroy him – who are they?
Good question.
You could put Chip Flowers right at the top of that list.
Agreed.
BTW choosing the Krakauer book as your image for this was choice.
The point that the taxpayers didn’t foot the bill is false. Flowers said that his agency paid dues for ‘5 or 6’ treasury employees to join the NAST. At $600 a pop. If the check that Flowers posted is accurate, and there is nothing on the check to prove that it is, then the reimbursement for expenses comes out of the $3000-3600 that Chip paid to NAST. Flowers basically sent the money to NAST to serve as a bank to reimburse expenses for the conference. We’re still out the $3K to $3600. Oh, and nobody but Chip and Erika got to go anywhere. Not enough $$’s.
And, Chip’s and Benner’s charges amounted to well over $5000. Benner’s gotten stuck with the bill, but Flowers said that the expenses were legit, and that Benner, while still in her 5th month or so of recovery from SOMEthing, waived her rights to the money. Since the expenses amounted to well over the $3000-3600 that were authorized, where would that reimbursement have come from?
Plus, it is more than a little convenient that Flowers is saying that an ‘excess of caution’, or something to that effect, prevents him from proving that he was meeting with banks (ie, conducting state business) rather than enjoying himself on the state’s dime. He cited state law, and claimed it was within the portion of the code dealing with the State Cash Management Policy Review Board. Al and I scoured the statute and found no such thing. He also couldn’t remember who Benner was allegedly meeting with at the lodge in Talkeetna. Says he’s got it back at the office somewhere.
In other words, he refuses to release information that would verify that he was working on state business following the conference. Which would be quite fortuitous for him and Benner if they WEREN’T conducting state business. The conference took place over a year ago now. Does anyone really think that release of the names of the banks he met with would constitute some sort of breach of protocol? No, release of the records would enable the banks to verify or deny that such meetings took place. In other words, to prove whether Chip is telling the truth or not. He and I share one thing in common: Neither of us have proven what he was really doing. He has access to info that would either presumably clear him or bust him, but he ain’t telling. Explain to me why I shouldn’t be suspicious?
BTW, Flowers can’t cut ANY deals by himself with the banks who he allegedly met with. Much to his chagrin, he can only propose and vote as ONE member of the Cash Management Board. That’s what he wants to change. So, I find the idea that he’s engaging in top-secret negotiations with key finance officials absurd on its face.
This Is Copied And Pasted Directly From the Talkeetna Lodge Website:
Mt. McKinley, our “Denali”
One of the highlights for guests visiting the Talkeetna area is the opportunity to see North America’s tallest peak, Mt. McKinley, or “Denali” as we call her locally. Rising above the tundra to 20,320 feet (6194 meters), outstanding views of Denali can be enjoyed from several places in town.
http://www.talkeetnalodge.com/lodge/where-talkeetna/
Uh…Chipman…it turns out that it actually is the same place.
Flowers’ explanation was that while you can see Denali from the lodge, the actual mountain is a couple hours away. (Yeah, yeah, I know…, but that’s what he said.) He says that they took the flight from Anchorage to Denali on a day set aside as a free day by the conference. Just pure coincidence that their separate Facebook pix went up on the same day. I’m actually inclined to believe him on this point.
The Talkeetna Lodge website boasts that “wireless access is available throughout the Main Lodge” – a nice amenity if you and your girlfriend want to post your pics on Facebook after a long day of siteseeing on the taxpayers dime! Keep spinning your lies Chipster. We’re enjoying the show! What a dope! You’d think this guy would realize that someone would look at Google maps and the lodge website.
El Som, I guess you also believe that Benner checked in as 2 people for “security purposes” and ate $340 of food by herself in a day and a half.
Hey, I’m not arguing that she was on ‘state business’ while at the Lodge. Chip is.
And, no I don’t think he explained those charges today.
Meanwhile, Benner remains conveniently off the radar in recovery mode.
Call me an asshole (hey, I won’t be offended), but the state is footing at least five months of recovery for the one person who could shed light on this? How many other state employees are in ‘recovery mode’ on the state’s dime for this long? Especially after you’ve been fired from your job.
Wish I’d known about this when my time came…I’d still be in recovery.
You can see Denali from Anchorage (on a good day), but the mountain itself is a few hours away. Talkeetna is still where climbers start to get to Denali.
But this isn’t exactly the point — the point is that he keeps muddying the water with all kinds of murky detail that doesn’t help his story, but keeps people from following the track of the original story:
Right? Some records have been held back even though they’ve been FOIA’ed; they both spent time sightseeing after the event and who knows who they were meeting with.
ate $340 of food by herself in a day and a half
While in meetings with investment bankers and others looking for the state’s business — and none of them bought dinner?
El Som is right here — I noted in my original post that there is no way to claim that no taxpayer money was spent here, unless Ms. Benner gave up all of the business-related charges she made here.
Which I have to tell you, really sticks in my craw. Chip claims that Ms. Benner’s expenses were proper — yet she’s the only one who is out any money for this adventure. I don’t care about an abundance of caution — I’d like to know why Benner’s expenses were disallowed (after being allowed) and not Chip’s.
There is one certain truth in this whole business: It sure has taken the spotlight off of the Mayor and his family/cronies. Hmmmmm.
If you stop to think about it, the VJP clusterbleep sure took the spotlight off of Flowers’ travel issues for a few weeks.
Man, in hindsight, we didn’t have much of a choice for Treasurer in 2010. VJP and Flowers on the D side, and bloated bloviator Colin Bonini on the R side. That’s brutal.
Speaking of which, where is that bloviator? Usually he is part of the baying pack when there is a D in the media. I was talking about this with someone yesterday — they’ve all gone to ground on this thing it looks like.
Well, due to redistricting, Bonini’s senate seat is up in 2014. He’s not about to trade a sure thing for–possibly nothing.
A guy’s gotta eat, after all.
Besides, wouldn’t shock me if Bonini admired, and related to, the large room service charges. Mmm, two breakfasts…
Legislators go on junkets, too. This may be too close to home for some of ’em.
They do, and taxpayers pay for them. So does staff, or at least they used to.
But, if you’ve ever gone on one, you know that the Goldbergesque explanation as to how these charges went unpaid for months on end doesn’t make sense. Especially since Delaware’s supposed fiscal transparency advocate was the one looking the other way. You come back. You submit your charges. You reimburse, or are reimbursed. Simple as that.
No Chinese algebra required.
how these charges went unpaid for months on end doesn’t make sense.
Which doesn’t jive with the NJ’s account of documents that they say they had, right? They wouldn’t have know about the contents of room service breakfasts if they were not part of the detail on a receipt for a reconciled credit card. The only way you can claim that NAST paid for that is to: 1) know that the NAST check was specifically applied to the travel account the original charges were alloted to; 2) that there were no other NAST expenses through the year that got charged to taxpayers and 3) that the NAST check covered the previous FY, not the current one.
One thing that I did hear him say was that these checks from NAST were a way for the private sector to help Treasurers’ finance their trips to their events, without having to write their own checks (leaving a paper trail). I think that the Insurance Commissioner group does this too. It’s a way to get around CoI issues or even restrictions on gifts that might exist. It is pretty seedy.
What have we learned from all of this?
1. State issued credit cards should never be used.
2. Conventions and conferences are a no-no for electeds and their staff.
3. Single black men planning on running for office need to get married ASAP or there will be rumors about them hooking up with the highest ranking woman in their office.
4. All state meetings must be made public including attendee lists.
5. Questionable credit card purchases must be paid back to the state in under 10 months.
6. Even if you do pay the costs back, it is still a story.
7. If you do go to a conference, you are not allowed to do anything which causes you to smile and take pictures. When conferences break and people go off to site-see and network… Our officials should remain in the conference center stone faced and and ready for the conference to resume.
So let it be written… So let it be done
This one is bullshit.
3. Single black men planning on running for office need to get married ASAP or there will be rumors about them hooking up with the highest ranking woman in their office.
A married white man would be under the exact same suspicion given the receipts and their dodgy explanations.
6. Even if you do pay the costs back, it is still a story.
I learned as a state employee, one can purchase anything on their credit card and just pay it back with no questions asked. No warning letter or any type of reprimand. How many people on here would be able to purchase game tickets and transportation with their work CC and still have a job the next week?
1. Yep that would be a start. If it’s coming out of your pocket first and then you have to file a voucher to reimbursed there won’t be any questionable charges.
5. Payback in 10 months!? Are you kidding me? How about pay it back immediately. Or if you want a loan from the state then let’s install some reasonable interest on the 10 month loan.
Government issued credit cards should be used for travel, meals, and lodging only. You want to buy a souvenir, whip out your own credit card. In the federal world we get a credit card in our name for travel, lodging, meals, etc. We are responsible for paying the bills and filing vouchers for reimbursement.
The state needs to examine it’s credit card program in light of this to see if changes are warranted in how employees (elected or otherwise) use/abuse state credit cards.
What we’ve learned from this is that the state ethics program needs improvement. In the federal world (not that there aren’t abuses there, so don’t think I am holding it up as a model), it is very clear. If it walks like a duck, looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck. Translation: If it looks bad, it is bad. If it embarrasses you, the agency, or the government in general it’s inappropriate. If you have to do a soft-shoe vaudeville act to explain it, it’s wrong. It is just that simple.
The only lesson to be learned here is that elected officials should conduct all official business in the bright light of the sun.
I Fixed this for you Black Cobain….
1. State issued credit cards should never be used FOR PERSONAL TRANSACTIONS.
2. Conventions and conferences are a no-no for THE elected’s staff (ESPECIALLY WHEN THE STAFF PERSON HAS A HISTORY OF MAKING PERSONAL CHARGES WITH THE STATE CREDIT CARD).
3. ELECTED OFFICIALS SHOULD NOT FRATERNIZE WITH THEIR SUBORDINATES (ESPECIALLY IF SUCH SUBORDINATE IS MARRIED – ITS CALLED ADULTERY).
4. All state meetings must be made public including attendee lists. (DON’T THINK THIS IS A REQUEST)
5. Questionable STATE credit card purchases SHOULD NOT HAPPEN. EITHER ITS A BUSINESS EXPENSE REIMBURSABLE BY THE STATE OR A PERSONAL EXPENSE.
6. IF YOU ARE LATE PAYING IT BACK, it is still a story BECAUSE YOU SHOULD NEVER HAVE CHARGED IT.
7. If you do go to a conference, you are not allowed to do anything which causes you to smile and take pictures. When conferences break and people go off to site-see and network… YOU SHOULD NOT USE YOUR STATE ISSUED CREDIT CARD FOR ANYTHING RELATED TO SUCH SITE-SEEING ENDEAVOR!!!
See that was easy.
Dave, I’m in the same Govt. boat as you. People have gone to jail in the Federal world for misappropriations of their card. That is why it is mind blowing that the attitude is along as you pay it back, no harm.
i dont have a problem with most of the revisions. We can go with some of those. lol
Probably an 8: If you make a mistake, accept it instead of blaming everybody else and attacking others (especially reporters) or the story will never die.
Also lesson 9 – there are apparently investment banks in a small mountain town near Denali.