How exactly did Governor Granholm get to Washington for her appearance on Meet the Press last weekend? And more importantly, who paid for it? A viewer emailed me wondering exactly that, and the answers I found are the subject of this Fact Finder Report.
Remember the outrage when it was found out that the CEO's of the big three flew private jets to Washington to ask for money to bail them out? An awful lot of people were awfully upset about that, including Governor Granholm. She said they should have flown commercial and saved their companies the cash. That prompted a viewer to email me, asking how the exactly did the Governor got to the Meet the Press studios in Washington for her December 14th appearance. I made some phone calls, and here is what I found out.
The Governor left Lansing on Saturday December 13 and returned home on Sunday the 14th after her Meet the Press appearance. The Governor's Spokesperson Liz Boyd says the Governor did not fly commercially, she flew in one of the state's private planes operated by MDOT. When I asked why she didn't fly commercial Boyd told me in this case it was a matter of scheduling. She said it was a justified expense to the taxpayers since she was lobbying for the auto industry. When I asked wasn't that the same thing the big three CEO's did in their private plane? The Governors Office responded that the auto industry is in a state of crisis far greater than the state of Michigan's economic crisis. That's why it was wrong for them to do it, and justified for the Governor.
So what did this flight cost Michigan taxpayers? I called MDOT, which oversees the state's fleet, they billed the Governor's Office $3,630.50 for the flight. There were only two people on the flight, the Governor and her Press Secretary Liz Boyd. So that's $1,815.25 per passenger. I checked commercial flights to see if there were any other options. This weekend there are 14 options on Northwest Airlines alone to fly from Lansing to Washington for under $300 per person at roughly the same times the Governor was on board her private plane.
What about other expenses for the trip? I called Meet the Press, they say they handled lodging but all of the other expenses, like meals, and ground transportation were the responsibility of a guest.
I want to know what you think, if you think there is more to this story, or any story we air here on 7 & 4 News, drop me an email mschollett@tv7-4.com.
