David Williams Says Richie Farmer's "Celebrity Status" Justifies Extravagance. What's Next For Richie, We Wonder? Watch Video.

Richie Farmer Billed State For $359 Hotel Suite During Sweet 16. I Guess He Can't Help Himself. He Feels Like A Boy King!

Richie Farmer billed state for $359 hotel suite during Sweet 16
Written by Tom Loftus

FRANKFORT, Ky. — State Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer billed taxpayers for a four-night stay in a $359 hotel suite during the Boys Sweet 16 basketball tournament in Lexington last month.

Department of Agriculture records, obtained by The Courier-Journal under the state open records law, show taxpayers paid a total of $1,436 for the suite at the Hilton Lexington Downtown.

Farmer, a basketball star in high school and at the University of Kentucky, also billed the state for $40 for valet parking, $100.52 in room taxes and $120 in meals between March 16-20 — bringing the total tab to $1,696.52.

The expenses were paid because the Department of Agriculture has used the popular sporting event since Farmer became commissioner to promote its “Kentucky Proud” farm marketing program, said Bill Clary, director of public relations for the department.

“Kentucky Proud ... is one of the major advertisers in the Sweet 16, both in the radio network and in the arena itself,” Clary said. “And the commissioner uses that time to visit with people and promote Kentucky Proud. He basically decamps down to Lexington and moves his office in a sense down there for those several days.”

Farmer, who lives in Frankfort, did not respond to requests for an interview for this story.

Farmer is running for lieutenant governor on a ticket with Senate President David Williams, the candidate for governor, in the May 17 Republican primary.

The campaign has emphasized fiscal conservatism in government — at a time when the state faces serious budget problems — as a key issue.

In response to a request for comment, campaign manager Scott Jennings released a statement noting that the Agriculture Department's budget has been cut by 30 percent and has 20 percent fewer workers since Farmer took office in January 2004.

The budget cuts were imposed by the legislature in response to a drop in state revenues caused by the national economic recession.

“Richie implemented cross-training among his employees so they can do multiple jobs. Conservatives want government to operate with less money and fewer people and that's exactly why Richie Farmer is a leader with a proven conservative record,” Jennings said.

But other campaigns for governor criticized Farmer's stay at the hotel in Lexington which, according to Map Quest, is just a 24-mile drive, and 34 minutes, from his home in Frankfort.

“Again, I think this shows where Richie Farmer's priorities are with his budget, just like his refusing to take voluntary unpaid furloughs that other state employees must take,” said Sarah Reidy, manager of the campaign of Republican Bobbie Holsclaw, the Jefferson County clerk. “At a time when people are tightening their belts, he doesn't seem to be doing that.”

David Adams, manager of Louisville businessman Phil Moffett's GOP campaign for governor, said, “Don't these guys know how to shop for prices on the Internet? That's just embarrassing. ... I would imagine that if you went down the road you could find a room for $60 a night.”

GOP Does NOT Want To Cut NASCAR Funding. Go Figure!

Something GOP doesn't want to cut: Funding for NASCAR
By Barbara Barrett

WASHINGTON — The Minnesota Democrat who's out to get rid of the Pentagon's sponsorships for NASCAR teams says she won't back away from her efforts and, despite GOP resistance, will broaden her fight to repeal tax breaks for track owners, too.

Rep. Betty McCollum says her work could save American taxpayers tens of millions of dollars. But Defense Department officials and lawmakers from NASCAR country say the sponsorships help military recruitment, and that the tax breaks could save jobs in the struggling economy.

In an interview Friday, McCollum said it doesn't make sense to keep the benefits for NASCAR teams and track owners when other cuts are being made to community health care, programs for homeless veterans and Head Start.

"I started to look what is in this large defense budget to see what's not related to security that we could redirect to critical supplies or mission support," she said. "Or in the case of racetrack owners, what are some of the special tax perks that some of the special interests are getting?"

She plans to file legislation to prohibit Pentagon sponsorships of dragsters, Indy cars, stock cars and motorcycle racing, affecting just about every level of motorsports.

"We should take a critical eye and a critical look and say, 'Is this an appropriate role for the government?'" McCollum said.

McCollum filed an amendment this month to prohibit the Defense Department from spending money to sponsor NASCAR teams, saying it's a poor use of money given the other cuts the House was making. The amendment came as the House, led by Republicans, spent days wrestling with $60 billion in cuts to the current fiscal year's budget.

In the days before the vote, her office logged angry calls from across NASCAR country. "There were some people that were very upset," McCollum said.

She also received a threatening and racist fax, which received widespread media attention and is being investigated by the U.S. Capitol Police. But her chief of staff said the office also received a lot of calls from tea party supporters who backed McCollum's amendment.

Her amendment failed, 281-148.

Meanwhile, racetrack owners received tax breaks worth $45 million in 2010 and 2011, aimed at helping them make improvements to their facilities. A two-year extension of the program was included in the tax cuts compromise that President Barack Obama forged with Congress in December.

McCollum said she'll file legislation to repeal the tax benefit. "It's an earmark," she said.

North Carolina Republican Rep. Patrick McHenry disagrees. His Charlotte-area district is home to half the NASCAR teams. His Twitter avatar last week was the No. 3 logo in memory of legendary driver Dale Earnhardt, who was killed in a crash at the Daytona 500 in 2001.

McHenry spoke against McCollum's amendment a week ago on the House floor and said in an interview this week that her goal didn't seem to be about saving money. He pointed out that her two goals — killing the raceway tax breaks and banning driver sponsorships — are aimed at the same sport.

"She may believe that none of her constituents watch NASCAR, but they do," McHenry said this week. "This shows that she is on the warpath against NASCAR. This is more about her disdain for NASCAR than it really is about saving taxpayers' money."

McCollum insisted, though, that she has nothing against NASCAR.

"This isn't about NASCAR," McCollum said. "I've watched the Indy 500, the Daytona 500. I have friends who are avid fans. . . . This is about making tough choices."

Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/02/25/109477/something-gop-doesnt-want-to-cut.html#ixzz1F5Q3m5r9

Lexington Herald Leader Keeps Taking On Richie Farmer, This Time About His Caribbean Junket. Is There Plenty Of Ammo. Left For The Paper? Read More.

Farmer, aides took eight-day Caribbean trip
Other convention attendees cite lean times, cut expenses
By John Cheves

This summer, as the state government readied another round of budget cuts, including worker furloughs and Medicaid reductions, Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer and three top aides took an eight-day trip to a Caribbean luxury resort that cost taxpayers more than $10,000, according to a review of state travel records.

They attended the annual meeting of the Southern Association of State Departments of Agriculture, or SASDA, on St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Participants stayed at The Buccaneer hotel, a pink beachfront resort recently named one of the "Top Ten Classic Caribbean Hotels."

The meeting agenda lists about 13 hours of business sessions and an agricultural tour over the three days, June 23-25. But records show that Farmer's delegation arrived June 21 and departed June 28. It took advantage of optional events sponsored by the association, including golf outings, a visit to a rum distillery and a tour of the historic town of Christiansted.

Farmer declined to speak directly to a Herald-Leader reporter, designating his spokesman, Bill Clary to answer all questions.

Next year, Farmer ends his eight-year stint as agriculture commissioner. He will run as a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor on a slate with Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville.

While some states that are members of the association decided because of budget concerns to forgo this year's trip, Farmer took Rodman Craig Maffet, his chief of staff; John Roberts, executive director of consumer and environmental protection; and Robert Stout, the state veterinarian. The four men also brought their wives.

Clary said the four men paid for their wives' travel and charged the state for their own airfare, hotel rooms, food, registration and other related expenses. Farmer personally paid for a $100 "health spa treatment," plus a $20 tip, that appeared on his hotel bill, Clary said.

Receipts submitted after the trip show that the group enjoyed fine dining at public expense. A typical dinner included $32 plates of seared yellowfin tuna with lime ginger soy sauce and coconut rice, with a $10 slice of banana cheesecake for dessert.

Farmer handed $10 tips to drivers, bellhops, front-desk attendants and others throughout his stay, later charging them to his expense account at the state Department of Agriculture. He also charged $50 baggage fees going to and returning from the trip.

Despite the austerity measures ordered across state government, Clary said Farmer was comfortable with the trip's expense. Attendees discussed issues facing state agriculture officials, such as the farm bill in Congress, he said.

"He was cognizant when he went that there might be some people who later question it," Clary said. "But the commissioner goes to this every year because he believes it's important. He is a past president of this organization and believes that the networking with his peers is useful to him."

The association represents the agriculture departments of 15 states — from Texas to Maryland — and Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Its annual meetings are held on the home turf of its current president, Clary said. This year, that was Louis Petersen Jr. of the Virgin Islands.

Some stayed home

Not all of the states who are association members sent representatives to this year's meeting, given spending cuts at home, said Bob Ehart, public policy director at the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, which is SASDA's parent organization.

"A few of our states, because of budgetary concerns, did not travel down there," Ehart said. "Some of our agriculture commissioners have self-imposed spending restrictions on travel, or else their governors have issued restrictions."

Mississippi was one such no-show.

"Due to our budget situation, it just wasn't an option. We have to watch what we spend," said Andy Prosser, spokesman for the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce.

Last year, SASDA met in Oklahoma City. Travel records indicate that Farmer and the same three aides stayed for five days in Oklahoma City and spent about half as much money as they did during their eight days in the Virgin Islands this year.

Farmer's delegation came early to St. Croix and stayed late so the four men could have informal time talking with counterparts from other states, Clary said.

"A lot more is learned in the networking than in the general sessions," Clary said.

Running for a new office

Next year, when Williams and Farmer run on a Republican ticket for governor and lieutenant governor, their campaign's call for "a smaller, leaner government" might lose some credibility if they're not sharing in the same austerity as the rest of the state, said Don Gross, a University of Kentucky political scientist.

In August, the Herald-Leader reported that Farmer had spent about $445,000 buying 19 new vehicles for his department — including a $35,340 car for his own use, replacing a 2-year-old vehicle — while the rest of state government dramatically cut back on such purchases.

In 2008, the newspaper reported that Williams was planning a $448,997 upgrade of Senate offices at the state Capitol in Frankfort, following on an earlier $639,000-round of renovations that included the installation of a 60-inch plasma-screen television in Williams' office. Williams shelved the 2008 work after the plans became public, facing election-year criticism from lawmakers in his own party.

This year, at least, voters are angry at political incumbents and feeling personally poor, Gross said.

"The danger for the David Williams-Richie Farmer ticket is how much they talk about the need to cut state spending," Gross said. "That opens them to charges of hypocrisy when voters say, 'But, wait, you spent all this public money on trips to the Caribbean and new cars for yourself. Why should I take you seriously?'"

"Ten thousand dollars isn't necessarily a lot of money for state government, which deals in the many millions of dollars," he said. "But it's a lot of money to most of us. The average Kentucky voter would love to have that much money for their own Caribbean vacation."


Read more: http://www.kentucky.com/2010/10/17/1483323/farmer-aides-took-eight-day-caribbean.html#ixzz12dIwLhae

Kentucky Ranked WORST Run State In The Union. Even Mississippi (And California) Faired Better. Well ... DUH!

Read more here, and check out where your state ranks.

CATO Institute Releases "Fiscal Policy Report Card On America's Governors: 2010". See How Your Governor Manages Your Money.

Read more here, or excerpts below.

State governments have had to make tough budget choices in recent years. Tax revenues have stagnated as a result of the poor economy, and that has prompted governors to take a variety of fiscal actions to close large budget gaps. Some governors have cut spending to balance their budgets, while others have pursued large tax increases.

That is the backdrop to this 10th biennial fiscal report card of the governors, which examines state budget actions since 2008. It uses statistical data to grade the governors on their taxing and spending records — governors who have cut taxes and spending the most receive the highest grades, while those who have increased taxes and spending the most receive the lowest grades.

Four governors were awarded an "A" in this report card — Mark Sanford of South Carolina, Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, and Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Seven governors were awarded an "F" — Ted Kulongoski of Oregon, David Paterson of New York, Jodi Rell of Connecticut, Pat Quinn of Illinois, Jim Doyle of Wisconsin, Bill Ritter of Colorado, and Chris Gregoire of Washington.

Click here to check out how your Governor stacks up to others.

Florida GOP Displays Fiscal Responsibility With Your Money. *WINK*.

Bosses binged on meals, concerts, cigars, GOP ex-aide says

The onetime office manager of the Florida GOP, disgruntled since she lost her job after questioning expenditures, is telling her story.
BY MARC CAPUTO

Long before criminal investigations shook the Republican Party of Florida, office manager Susan Wright noticed a problem, she says: Higher-ups were spending party money to help themselves instead of the GOP.

There were the thousands of dollars dropped in Las Vegas restaurants, a casino resort and a Wayne Newton concert.

She says she saw thousands more in questionable expenses for trips and swank accommodations in Boston, Beverly Hills and Miami.

And she says she was among the first Republican staffers to voice concerns about a $200,000 party contract with a shell company called Victory Strategies, which is now at the center of the fraud and theft charges against former Chairman Jim Greer, who has pleaded not guilty.

Wright, 57, didn't know all the details, but fretted to her supervisors and co-workers that the party was running out of money and couldn't afford it all.

``I was told to keep my mouth shut,'' she said.

Wright didn't. So, she says, she was fired.

Now a witness in the state criminal case against Greer, Wright is breaking months of public silence to detail for The St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald the problems she saw at party headquarters under Greer and his right-hand man, Delmar Johnson, who is avoiding jail time in return for testifying against Greer.

GREER RESPONSE

Greer's attorney says he's innocent and is being set up by vengeful party leaders reneging on a $124,000 severance agreement.

Wright had access to expense reports, contracts, pay information and vacation time for nearly every party worker. She saw first hand the internal party documents detailing the charges, from the $1,290 at The Palazzo Las Vegas Resort Hotel Casino to the nearly $5,000 that Jim and wife Lisa Greer spent for a getaway in exclusive Fisher Island.

``Five-thousand friggin' dollars!'' she exclaimed when she asked about the purpose of the expense.

She says she never got an answer, only demands and insinuations that she be silent.

The spending came to light this spring when The Times/Herald and other media obtained Republican leaders' party-issued American Express cards. But Wright says Greer and Johnson also frequently used their personal credit cards for expenses, such as the $243 in Wayne Newton Before I Go performance tickets, that were reimbursed by the party.

Investigative documents and some top Republicans confirm that Wright was among the first insiders to raise red flags about all the spending.

Weeks after she was fired in January, Wright was flown to West Palm Beach by the U.S. Attorney's Office to tell her story to a federal prosecutor, an FBI agent and an Internal Revenue Service official.

Wright was interviewed by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in March.

Wright's observations not only helped investigators uncover alleged wrongdoing, they reveal a deep level of dysfunction in a political party that fostered a sense of entitlement among some top-ranking members and fear among the rank and file.

$100 DINNERS

Wright started working for the Republican Party of Florida in September 2007, nine months after Gov. Charlie Crist made Greer chairman.

By the middle of 2009, Wright said, the party was so ``broke'' that it paid some of its bills with staffers' credit cards. Known in budgeting circles as using non-recurring money to fund recurring expenses, that type of financial practice is decried year after year by Republican lawmakers just up the hill in the state Capitol.

Yet Greer, Johnson and associates -- what she called their ``little club'' -- kept spending away, she said.

``If you were in the club, you got your meals picked up, trips and cigars,'' she said. ``They loved to spend money on expensive cigars. . . . They ate good all the time: $95 lobsters, $100 steak dinners.''

But there were also $20 to $30 almost-daily meals. ``If we had stock in Po' Boys and the Black Bean, we'd be rich,'' she said of two Tallahassee haunts.

``They couldn't go to a gas station without buying bottled water and snacks,'' she said.

``Delmar loved souvenirs. He couldn't go to an airport without buying them -- snow globes, whatever. The chairman would buy three to four magazines, newspapers, any reading material for every trip.''

Wright said Johnson had the party pay for a transcription service that typed out his voicemail messages and e-mailed them to his party-paid BlackBerry.

Johnson, 31, also hired about six fraternity brothers at $10 an hour, she said.

Greer, 48, surrounded himself with a party-funded entourage. She said he commanded that certain party employees staff personal events, such as his son's first birthday party in Cocoa Beach, where Republican insiders were encouraged to wear Winnie-the-Pooh birthday caps.

Johnson and other staffers used a mix of personal and party cards to pick up expenses for the birthday celebration, Wright said. When she questioned a staffer who expensed his mileage and meals as ``voter outreach,'' he told Johnson, who hauled Wright into his office.

``Whether it's a party or not, whenever you do events with the chairman, it's work,'' she said Johnson told her, miffed that she wondered about his expenses as well. ``It's nobody's business what I'm expensing.''

Wright, who dealt more frequently with Johnson, said Greer had a similar attitude. But so did members of their ``club.''

``I'm tired of people saying we don't have the money. We have plenty of money,'' she said one staffer told her.

Wright said spending went ``through the roof'' in early 2009, when Executive Director Jim Rimes left and was replaced by Johnson. Rimes helped mind expenses and in 2008 snuffed a plan of Johnson's to spend about $12,000 on a replica of the White House desk known as the Resolute.

Later, as executive director, Johnson tried to get the party to pay for oil portraits of himself, Greer and Crist.

SECRET STAKE

Less than a month after Greer promoted Johnson, investigators say, they created Victory Strategies, with Greer holding a secret 60 percent share of the company and Johnson 40 percent. The company, ostensibly a fundraising organization, then entered into a little-known agreement with the party to receive a portion of its donations. In all, investigators say, Victory Strategies took $200,000 from the party. In addition, Greer rang up $478,000 in AmEx charges and Johnson charged $1.4 million.

Johnson, now giving testimony against his former boss, faces no charges for his role and his attorney describes him as a ``whistle-blower'' doing the right thing.

Though the case is being handled by a statewide grand jury on corruption, federal investigators have been asking questions about Greer, Johnson and other current and former allies of Crist.

Wright learned of the contract between the party and Victory Strategies -- but not Greer's ownership interest -- almost immediately. She complained to the party's Chief Financial Officer, Richard Swarttz, who often told her to keep quiet.

``You are the CFO,'' she said she told Swarttz more than once. ``You need to say enough is enough.''

``I need to keep my job. If you don't keep your mouth shut, you're not going to keep yours,'' she said Swarttz responded.

``He did not stand up to the chairman,'' Wright said. ``He would've been fired. He valued his job too much. He knew we were broke. Deep down, he didn't like what they were doing, but he felt there wasn't anything else he could do.''

Swarttz wouldn't comment, but a party spokeswoman issued a statement noting that he ``felt it was inappropriate for her, as an office manager with access to confidential information, to discuss her opinions on spending decisions that were directed by Jim Greer with employees and others outside of the accounting department. He was concerned for her job security should she continue to breach the confidential nature of her position.''

Court documents in Greer's case indicate Swarttz frequently asked for more information about Victory Strategies. But he was repeatedly rebuffed.

Swarttz didn't complain too much because his boss was Johnson and, ultimately, Greer. Under the RPOF structure, the treasurer and assistant treasurer of the party answered to the chairman.

Allen Cox, a Gulf County committeeman and frequent critic of Greer,said that the party's ``whole command structure failed,'' allowing Johnson and Greer to run amok, especially as Gov. Crist stood strongly behind the chairman.

Just a month before he was pressured to resign in January, Greer persuaded the party's executive board to cast a vote of confidence in him.

Around that time, word started to leak out about Victory Strategies and Johnson zeroed in on Wright. Just before she left for Christmas break, Wright's party cellphone and computer access were shut off. No one would say why.

On Jan. 4, as Greer was attempting to ink a lucrative severance package, she met with Johnson and the party's attorney, Jason Gonzalez, and was fired. When she asked why, Johnson said ``leaking information.'' But he wouldn't elaborate.

Days later, Cox contacted her and she informed him about Victory Strategies, she says. He told other Republicans, setting off a chain of bad press, party infighting and the forced resignation of Johnson.

Cox said the party should be embarrassed with Wright's firing and should take advantage of a new whistle-blower-protection policy to hire her back.

`IRREGULARITIES'

``She was the real whistle-blower,'' Cox said. ``She was the first to see irregularities in credit-card records, which I have confirmed. She saw Victory Strategies was suspicious and making immediate payments to Delmar, regardless of how little cash we had on hand. And when she started to talk about what was going on, she was summarily fired.''

Wright today is unemployed. She lives on the outskirts of Tallahassee with her husband.

She's trying not to be bitter about what happened and said she kept quiet for so long because she was told she could get her job back. Now she says she at least wants the truth to come out about Greer and Johnson, who she said should face jail time as well as the former chairman.

``I hope they're in the same boat as me,'' she said. ``With no job and no money.''

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/07/11/v-fullstory/1725086/bosses-binged-on-meals-concerts.html#ixzz0tUS6TbdM


Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/07/11/1725086/bosses-binged-on-meals-concerts.html#ixzz0tURKa4kQ

"Kentucky's Budget ILLUSIONS". And I *SIGH*.

Legislature's budget illusion
Congress blowing big hole in plans

Even as Kentucky lawmakers were belatedly approving a new budget on May 28, a key assumption of the document was already unraveling.

In Washington that same day, Democrats in the U.S. House abandoned plans for the $24 billion six-month extension of expanded Medicaid benefits. Those benefits are now set to expire Dec. 31, but the new two-year state spending plan assumed they would be extended until June 30, 2011.

Kentucky expected to get an estimated $238 million from the benefits extension. Without that money and the federal matching dollars it would generate, Gov. Steve Beshear warned the state's congressional delegation by letter this week, the potential hole in the state Medicaid budget could reach $1 billion.

"A budget hole of that magnitude threatens the entire budget, including funding of priority areas like education, public safety and health care," Beshear wrote.

Such a prospect emphasizes how foolhardy it was for legislative leaders to include this assumption in the budget.

Any extension of the expanded benefits was always an iffy proposition. And it became even more unlikely with the rise of the Tea Party movement after Republican Scott Brown captured the late Sen. Edward Kennedy's seat in a January special election, thus depriving Senate Democrats of a filibuster-proof 60-vote majority.

In other words, legislative leaders should have seen this coming. And we suspect they did, even though they kept up their Pollyanna performance throughout the regular and special General Assembly sessions.

They knew their smoke would dissipate, their mirrors would lose the ability to distort and the illusion of a balanced budget they were creating would vanish eventually.

We suspect they were hoping it would happen later rather than sooner, though. After Nov. 2 no doubt would have suited them nicely, since putting off the tough decisions until the next election cycle has passed remains their one guiding principle.

And that's no assumption. Just the political reality in a state plagued by "leaders" who refuse to actually lead.

Read more: http://www.kentucky.com/2010/06/09/1298587/legislatures-budget-illusion.html#ixzz0qMUTrPTD