Gov. Takes Another Unscheduled Trip Out of State

When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger departed New York City on Thursday afternoon, his top communications aides told reporters that he would return to California that night.

He didn’t. Somewhere in flight, his plans changed -- and his aides did not correct the record. The governor instead detoured for a vacation out of state. He spent a few days in Sun Valley, Idaho, according to a friend of the governor who asked not to be named.

Schwarzenegger came back to California on Sunday. It was not the first time his aides failed to disclose Schwarzenegger’s whereabouts. During the transition last fall, he took a trip to Hawaii -- even as aides claimed he was participating in meetings in California. Earlier this year, unannounced, he spent another long weekend in Sun Valley.

Pat Clarey, the governor’s chief of staff, said Sunday night that she had notified the office of Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, who is acting governor when Schwarzenegger is out of state, that the governor had not returned to California.

Rob Stutzman, the communications director, and Margita Thompson, his press secretary, told California reporters Thursday that the governor was heading home after attending the Republican National Convention, where he spoke. Stutzman discussed the possibility of Schwarzenegger vetoing a bill on driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants Friday.

Both press aides have criticized reporters who follow Schwarzenegger when he travels out of state on vacation. They maintain he is a private citizen when he is out of state. Thompson said Sunday that Schwarzenegger, who owns a private plane, “decided mid-flight that he wasn’t coming back to California. He likes to be flexible.”