State leaders still take big rides
BOISE – While some of the nation’s governors are abandoning their official gas-guzzling SUVs to set a better example of fuel efficiency for their state’s residents, Idaho’s governor is still driving a Chevy Suburban and Washington’s still rides in either a Suburban or a Cadillac DeVille.
Idaho officials are quick to note, however, that Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne’s Suburban is a new “flexible-fuel” model that runs on E85, an 85 percent ethanol fuel. In fact, Kempthorne’s Suburban gets 100 miles for every gallon of gasoline used – because only 15 percent of its fuel is gasoline, and the rest is ethanol.
“That’s part of the governor’s ideas about gas conservation,” said Kempthorne’s press secretary, Mike Journee. “Before this recent crisis even got as serious as it did, he was thinking about it.”
However, Kempthorne hasn’t been thinking about trading in the Suburban for something smaller. “At this point, there hasn’t been any discussion of that,” Journee said.
Neither has Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire, though she drove a 2002 Toyota Prius hybrid when she was attorney general – before security-minded state police insisted on the larger vehicles.
“A smaller, fuel-efficient car isn’t going to fit everybody,” said Washington State Patrol Lt. Karen De Witt. “For what we’re using them for, unfortunately the bigger cars are the ones we’re looking at.”
In Florida, where fuel shortages followed the landfall of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Gov. Jeb Bush has parked his giant Ford Expedition SUV and switched to a Ford Escape hybrid borrowed from the state Department of Environmental Protection.
“The Expedition got about 14 miles per gallon, and the Escape gets 36,” said Bush spokesman Russell Schweiss. “He’s leading by example. He’s asking the people in the state to conserve and he’s doing the same.”
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson – a former U.S. energy secretary – is trading his Lincoln Navigator for a Ford Escape, and the Associated Press reported that Maine Gov. John Baldacci has abandoned SUVs entirely in favor of a Chevy Impala sedan.
Kempthorne got his long, shiny, black, flexible-fuel Suburban nearly a year ago, and also launched a push to get more of the state’s vehicle fleet replaced with alternative-fuel vehicles. Journee said the changeover is expected to be gradual as vehicles are replaced. Thus far, only the Boise area in Idaho offers E85 fuel; flexible-fuel vehicles can run on regular gasoline when they’re elsewhere.
Kempthorne also has issued an executive order calling for energy-conservation measures in state buildings, from shutting off lights and computers overnight and on weekends to turning off vending-machine lights.
Schweiss said Florida was particularly hard-hit after Katrina because the majority of its petroleum comes from Gulf Coast refineries that were affected by the hurricane. The state also has implemented energy-saving measures like cutting back on air conditioning and dimming lights.
Bush won’t abandon his big rig permanently, however, Schweiss said. “We’ll likely switch back to the Expedition because there are certain security issues with having a larger vehicle,” he said. Mainly, that involves the ability to push another vehicle out of the way if necessary – something state law enforcement officials insist is essential, though it’s never actually happened.
Idaho State Police also have “certain stipulations that they have for the governor’s vehicle,” Journee said. “It’s got to have some power in case something does happen. They want to be sure the car will perform in the way they need it to perform.”