Arkansas’s Secy of State Office has officially stated that they don’t need a system to track usage of their pool of 23 state owned cars.

Ms. Alice Stewart, of the same office, says ”keeping a written log of use of the office’s vehicles is neither required by law nor necessary. Supervisors make sure that any time any of the 23 pool vehicles are checked out, they are being used for a work-related reason, not personal business” (The Secy of State himself doesn’t have a supervisor). “A written record is not maintained, because there is no need for one.”

Feeling all warm and fuzzy about the control of vehicles that you, the taxpayer paid for, and oh by the way, you also buy the gas that is used. To further set us at ease, Ms. Stewart, a fine respected Scottish name, says “The procedures and policies we have in place are working. There’s not a problem, so why change what we’re doing?” (Since they don't track vehicle use, they have no policies or procedures, ergo they "are working". Get it?)

Well to answer her question as to "why change": so as to give us taxpayers confidence and assurances that the state vehicles, for which we’ve paid, are not being used inappropriately.

An example, gas receipts on state credit cards show gas purchases at stations in Northwest Arkansas just a few miles from the Secy of State Mark Martin’s home as well as that of his Chief of Staff Doug Matayo. An "independent" Democratic Blogger by name of Matt Campbell dug this up and alleges that it shows the potential that the vehicles were regularly used for weekend trips, not for state business. The CC receipts didn’t indicate just who purchased the gas on the several occasions, but it was rumored from an anonymous former employee of the Dept that is exactly what was going on.

The neat thing about the Secy of State’s office's ‘Vehicle Use Tracking System’ (actually there isn’t one) is that it provides not a shred of evidence to support or deny this allegation. And why should it, per Ms. Stewart “There’s not a problem, so why change what we’re doing?”

And if you are Mr. Martin and Mr. Matayo driving 150 miles one way on weekends to your home at state expense in a state car, it obviously is working pretty well and per Ms. Stewart “… not a problem.”

The foxes win again over us chickens. OK Shirley, I understand that they aren’t totally stupid and can schedule a meeting of some type near their home on Friday’s to cover up the vehicle use. Where’s the old ‘Honor System’ when we need one? Or even better, where is personal honor?