CHP Chief Drops Plan to Lease Private Jet for Governor’s Use

The chief of the California Highway Patrol on Wednesday abandoned his effort to lease a personal airplane for Gov. Gray Davis and instead urged him to resume taking commercial flights because they are “safe again.”

The move completes a rapid reappraisal of the idea, launched to bolster security for the governor but quickly dropped after critics lambasted it.

Among other things, the proposal would have given a $960,000-a-year contract to a Davis campaign contributor without competitive bidding.

In addition, the plan indicated that Davis was preparing to stop using commercial airliners even as other leaders have been urging Americans to place their faith in heightened airport security measures and return to their normal travel habits.

In the immediate aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks by suicidal terrorists who hijacked four airliners, CHP Commissioner D.O. “Spike” Helmick had reassessed the governor’s exposure to harm. At that time, Helmick concluded that Davis was safer on a private plane, and the CHP chief was ready to sign the leasing contract.

But the initially low-profile proposal drew criticism after it was revealed last weekend. Helmick said Wednesday that he changed his mind after receiving assurances from safety advisors that newly enhanced security measures at airports were adequate to protect the governor.

“The safety features are there. The airlines are flying again. We are going to recommend that [Davis] go back to commercial flights,” Helmick said.

There was no immediate response from the governor’s office. Officials there were said to be concerned about possible adverse public reaction to leasing a gubernatorial airplane, an on-and-off custom that stretched back to Gov. Pat Brown in the 1960s.

However, a top-level assistant to Davis had indicated that the governor would follow the CHP’s recommendations, whatever they might be.

‘This Decision Was in My Hands’

Helmick, an up-from-the-ranks patrolman who was one of Davis’ first appointees when he became governor in 1999, was asked if the governor’s office had urged him to abandon the plane-leasing plan.

“What you had was my earlier recommendation,” Helmick responded. “I have reversed myself. It was clear that this decision was in my hands.”

The issue sparked controversy after The Times reported Saturday that a $960,000 contract to lease an eight-passenger Cessna Excel was ready to be handed out--without competitive bidding--to West Sacramento business executive Stephen Beneto, a major campaign contributor to Davis.

Helmick said that five airplane sales companies were asked to submit leasing offers to the state and that Beneto’s was superior to the others. He said one company had no plane available, while proposals from the three others exceeded the CHP’s $1.2-million budget.

As controversy intensified Tuesday, Helmick announced that he would reopen the process to all bidders so there would be no question about its fairness. But late Wednesday, he called off the project.

“I think you’ve heard the final [word],” he told a reporter.

In a statement sent to reporters, Helmick, who had supported the personal jet proposal as providing the highest level of air security for the governor, said his just-completed analysis of airport and airline security had found that “it is safe for the governor to continue to fly commercial airlines.”

In the same four-paragraph statement, Davis urged Californians to return to “normal daily lives.”

“Let’s all show support for the proud employees of our nation’s airlines [who have] worked extra hard to make our travel safer than ever,” Davis said.