Gov. Crist finds free time Public schedule shows no work done for 14 work weeks in last year

Gov. Crist finds free time

Public schedule shows no work done for 14 work weeks in last year

By JESSICA GRESKO and BRENDAN FARRINGTON
Associated Press Writers
Publication Date: 04/18/09

TALLAHASSEE -- Gov. Charlie Crist campaigned by saying he'd "come to work every day" and accused his opponent of being an empty chair, but a look at his public planner shows a lot of blank space.

According to a review by The Associated Press, the Republican governor's schedule shows no work on the equivalent of 70 days, or 14 work weeks, including half and partial days. That's about twice as many blank schedules during a similar period under Crist's Republican predecessor Jeb Bush.

The governor and his staff said Crist was constantly working. They said the public schedules are only an outline, and don't include policy research, impromptu meetings and dozens of phone calls on any given day. Other days he may have been campaigning or raising money.

"You're never not governor," Crist, 52, told AP. "As long as I have my phone on me -- and I always do -- I'm always on the clock, no matter where I am."

The AP reviewed Crist's public schedule for one year beginning April 16, 2008. Excluding weekends and nine state holidays, Crist's schedule shows him working about 72 percent of the time. The schedule is released to the media and posted online each day.

With the governor's annual salary at $132,932, Crist got paid more than $35,000 for the days where his schedule shows no work.

Crist's former chief of staff, George LeMieux, said the public schedule was a way to let people know who the governor may be meeting with and what events he's attending.

"It is not a list of all the things the governor does each day," said LeMieux, who still advises Crist. "It's never been intended for that."

Crist typically starts each morning at 5:30. After a workout, he begins reading material to prepare for the day -- news, policy papers, speeches and more. He then starts calling staff before the workday starts and continues telephoning them, lawmakers and others late into the evening, often until 10 p.m., LeMieux said. None of that work gets on the public schedule, he said.

"To confuse his schedule as a record of what the governor has done on any particular day would be a huge mistake," he said. "He's one of the hardest working, most disciplined people I've ever met."

Still, Crist's schedule is often noticeably blank. There are many days, like March 1, when the only event listed is a conference call. In all, 41 days are blank or show only a phone call to the office.

In addition, there are 46 days that show only a half day's worth of work; nine days show only an hour or two.

Some examples:

-- May 3: Visit to turtle hospital in the Florida Keys.

-- July 10: Governor works in St. Petersburg from 9 a.m. to 1:10 p.m.

-- Jan. 28: NFL Super Bowl Kids Day press conference.

The past year also included time off to honeymoon with his new wife, whom he married in December, and time off for a knee injury, which are among the 70 days AP counted.

On other blank days, he's clearly not relaxing. There were times when he was campaigning for then-Republican presidential nominee John McCain and raising money for other GOP candidates. Two days in mid-November, he attended the Republican Governor's Association meeting in Miami and kept a busy pace of meetings and events, but that time is not counted as doing the state's work, so his schedule is blank.

There were weekends where Crist ended up working, like in September when Hurricane Ike threatened Florida. In July, he flew to Europe on a trade mission and had meetings on a Sunday. And even on his honeymoon, LeMieux said Crist spent much of the time trying to salvage a deal to purchase U.S. Sugar property to help restore the Everglades.

"At the end of the day, the most important things are the results he's achieved for the people and I think those are unmatched and the people know that and that's why he has an over 70 percent approval rating," LeMieux said.

Democrats have frequently complained about Crist's schedule. A year ago, they put up a Web site chiding Crist for missing work. They were especially angry because during Crist's campaign three years ago, he accused his Democratic opponent, former U.S. Rep. Jim Davis of Tampa, of missing congressional votes in order to stump.

"I'll come to work every day," Crist said during a debate with Davis. "You can't govern from an empty chair."

Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Karen Thurman doesn't accept the explanations from Crist, saying he has had a hands-off approach with legislators and the state budget. She said he "absolutely" has not lived up to his campaign promise.

"We also have been tracking this," Thurman said. "We're the ones that ran the stories on the Web about Empty Chair Charlie because we felt like ... he was not showing up for work, and in fact he's the one who said you can't govern from an empty chair. He set the standard."

Crist's schedule is more noticeably empty than his predecessor Bush, who was a noted policy wonk and notorious for sending e-mails at all hours.

During a year between April 2000-01, Bush's schedule listed events and meetings 87 percent of the time, and no scheduled events for the equivalent of about seven weeks, also excluding weekends and holidays. During the first seven months of that period, his brother, George W. Bush, was running for president.

In an e-mail to The Associated Press Friday, Jeb Bush said judging the governor's worked based on his schedule is not a fair comparison.

"During my tenure, it reached a point that I had so many meetings that we created a day once a week (or once every other week) that was 'Time to be Governor Day.' That was to allow me to meet with whomever I wanted ... to wander around, meet with a team member, to make calls, or just to think," Bush said. "The schedule may have been blank but I worked just as hard."

Bush also defended Crist.

"I know he is a very hard working guy who is working, thinking and breathing being Governor and serving Florida," Bush said.

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Associated Press writer Brent Kallestad contributed to this report.

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On the Net:

View Crist's schedule: http://www.flgov.com/calendar

Democrats' empty chair Web site: http://www.emptychaircharlie.com/

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