Romney is a question mark

[ProSense]

Unbelievable!


Romney notifies ethics officials of Pfizer-financed trip
December 24, 2005

BOSTON --Gov. Mitt Romney has notified state ethics officials that Pfizer flew him to a conference on a private jet when a bill pending in the state Legislature could impact the pharmaceutical company's business.

The legislation, which was passed by the state Senate and awaits a vote in the House of Representatives, would extend drug coverage for seniors and the disabled.

Romney, in a letter filed Thursday with the state Ethics Commission, acknowledges that the bill could affect Pfizer. But he defended his impartiality, writing, "I am confident in my ability to evaluate the merits of this legislation objectively," the Boston Herald reported Saturday.

Romney spokeswoman Julie Teer said the bill may not even reach the governor's desk.

"We filed the disclosure out of an abundance of caution," Teer said.

Earlier this month, Democrats called for ethics officials to investigate Romney's trip to the Republican Governors Association meeting in California on Pfizer's $40 million Gulfstream jet.

At the time, the Republican governor argued that many politicians, including U.S. Sens. Edward Kennedy and John Kerry, both Massachusetts Democrats, fly on corporate jets.

"It's like a contribution, like any other corporate contribution to associations, and that will continue to happen in Republican and Democratic circles," Romney told reporters in early December.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/12/24/romney_notifies_ethics_officials_of_pfizer_financed_trip/