Laws should be revised to prevent a repeat of Eckstrom's abuse of privilege

It was bad enough that state Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom took a state vehicle to Minnesota for vacation and forced the state's taxpayers to pay for the gasoline. It's worse that he would try to justify those actions.

The vacation was taken two years ago. Eckstrom drove a state-owned minivan on the family's 3,615-mile vacation and used a state credit card to pay for the gasoline.

The trip came to light when Eckstrom's opponent in this year's election, Democrat Drew Theodore, unearthed the information and gave it to The State newspaper.

Eckstrom expresses deep regret for the incident but only as an error in judgment that created a poor public impression. "It's hard to justify it from an appearance point of view," he said.

That's an understatement.

Eckstrom's position is that he did not violate state policy. He says the vehicle is assigned to him as a perk of his office, and he is allowed to use it for personal purposes.

He didn't write the policy, he says. He has now reimbursed the state for the cost of the gasoline.

Eckstrom is supposed to be the watchdog of the taxpayers' money, making sure it isn't wasted or abused. Yet he used a significant portion of state money to pay for his vacation travel.

That's simply wrong any way you look at it. It would be wrong for any state official. It is particularly egregious for the comptroller general. Of all people, he should know better.

Lawmakers should clarify the standard for use of these vehicles. Other state employees are required to keep a log of the trips they take in state vehicles. Elected constitutional officers are exempt from this policy, and they shouldn't be.

Simply being closer to the top in state government hierarchy shouldn't be a license to fund your own travel on the taxpayers.

Use of state vehicles should be reserved for official purposes rather than personal use. An exception would be when security concerns require someone like the governor to travel in state vehicles with security.

These principles should be recorded in state law, setting a clear standard for those state officials who are assigned state vehicles.

Meanwhile, Eckstrom should do more than acknowledge an error in judgment. He should admit that in this instance, not only did he fail to guard the taxpayers' money, he abused those funds himself.