They do it more often than you might think. Now and again, a governor or mayor will drop out of sight for a day or three, whether for quiet rest and relation, political work or to visit a significant other. And some do it so often that the public and the press have come to take it for granted.
When he first took office in 2002, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg repeatedly refused to tell reporters where he was on weekends. (On at least one occasion, Bermuda, it turned out.) The mayor’s secretiveness prompted the New York Post to print an image of a milk carton with the mayor’s picture on it.
These days, Bloomberg, who owns homes in London and Vail, Colorado, as well as Bermuda, still jets off on weekend getaways without telling the City Hall press corps where he is going, or even that he will be gone. But it is no longer news.
Ditto with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who attracted much attention when he was first elected for taking off for parts unknown. Unlike Bloomberg, however, Schwarzenegger’s office usually notifies reporters when he is out of California — even if they do not say precisely where — as they did last week with this typically terse advisory: “Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has left the state.”
Another wealthy politician, New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, has also become famous for his out-of-state jaunts, few of which are listed on his public schedule. In 2007, the New York Times became aware of Corzine’s frequent absences only after someone close to the State Senate president, the man in charge while the governor is away, casually mentioned that he would be acting governor, again, that weekend.
What Messrs. Corzine, Schwarzenegger and Bloomberg do on their many private trips usually remain closely guarded secrets. But their aides point out that they stay in close touch via BlackBerrys and cellphones and take appropriate steps to ensure that power is transferred to a second in command when they leave town. It appears little of that happened with South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford when he disappeared last weekend.
Laws concerning succession of power when governors leave their states or mayors leave their cities vary from place to place. There are certainly no standard rules when it comes to notifying reporters when a governor or mayor is on the road, officials and experts say.
In Connecticut, Governor M. Jodi Rell is required to send a letter when she leaves the state notifying the lieutenant governor that he shall “exercise the powers and authority and perform the duties appertaining to the office of governor” until she returns. A spokesman for Rell, Adam Liegeot, said that as a general practice, members of the local news media are informed whenever she leaves the state, even if it is to visit New York.
Not so in Florida, where Governor Charlie Crist is not required to turn over power when he leaves the state. Erin Isaac, communications director for Crist, said her office does not notify the news media when the governor travels on political or personal business.
“But if people ask, we tell them,” Isaac said.
At least one governor, Tim Kaine of Virginia, took Sanford to task for his disappearance. Kaine, who is chairman of the Democratic National Committee, criticized Sanford, a Republican, for traveling without his security detail and being out of touch for several days.
“Everybody always knows where I am,” Kaine said on Thursday on his monthly radio show on WRVA in Richmond. “I always have security with me and the reason they’re there isn’t necessarily to protect me from a bear. They’re there mostly if I have to make a decision so they can hand me a satphone and I can make a decision.”
Still, the governor’s office does not always notify the press corps when Kaine leaves the state on political or personal business, which happens several times a month, said Lynda Tran, his communications director.
Aides to several governors said that given technology today, it is extremely rare for a governor to be out of touch. And given the multiplicity of news outlets today, from newspapers to cable TV networks to blogs, it is difficult for a governor, much less a mayor, to escape from view for very long.
When Washington Governor Chris Gregoire canceled a speech this year and her office refused to say where she was, the Olympia press corps was abuzz with rumors for a full day. She was, it turned out, visiting troops in Iraq.
The Chinese government on March 29 sent shock waves through the Tibetan Buddhist community by announcing the untimely death of one of its most revered spiritual figures, Hungkar Dorje Rinpoche. His sudden passing in Vietnam raised widespread suspicion and concern among his followers, who demanded an investigation. International human rights organization Human Rights Watch joined their call and urged a thorough investigation into his death, highlighting the potential involvement of the Chinese government. At just 56 years old, Rinpoche was influential not only as a spiritual leader, but also for his steadfast efforts to preserve and promote Tibetan identity and cultural
Former minister of culture Lung Ying-tai (龍應台) has long wielded influence through the power of words. Her articles once served as a moral compass for a society in transition. However, as her April 1 guest article in the New York Times, “The Clock Is Ticking for Taiwan,” makes all too clear, even celebrated prose can mislead when romanticism clouds political judgement. Lung crafts a narrative that is less an analysis of Taiwan’s geopolitical reality than an exercise in wistful nostalgia. As political scientists and international relations academics, we believe it is crucial to correct the misconceptions embedded in her article,
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), the leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), caused a national outrage and drew diplomatic condemnation on Tuesday after he arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office dressed in a Nazi uniform. Sung performed a Nazi salute and carried a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf as he arrived to be questioned over allegations of signature forgery in the recall petition. The KMT’s response to the incident has shown a striking lack of contrition and decency. Rather than apologizing and distancing itself from Sung’s actions,
US President Trump weighed into the state of America’s semiconductor manufacturing when he declared, “They [Taiwan] stole it from us. They took it from us, and I don’t blame them. I give them credit.” At a prior White House event President Trump hosted TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), head of the world’s largest and most advanced chip manufacturer, to announce a commitment to invest US$100 billion in America. The president then shifted his previously critical rhetoric on Taiwan and put off tariffs on its chips. Now we learn that the Trump Administration is conducting a “trade investigation” on semiconductors which
RSS