Governors

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford on Tuesday justified his use of state planes for personal trips in which he often brought along his wife and four sons, saying his taxpayer-funded travel was no different than that of his predecessors. "I've got a busy life, and I've tried as best I can -- within the context of the current mess-up that has been more than well chronicled and more than well talked about -- to be a reasonable father, while at the same time being a good governor," Sanford said in response to questions.

South Carolina's lieutenant governor on Wednesday called for the resignation of Gov. Mark Sanford, citing "serious misconduct" and "serious distractions" that have stemmed from Sanford's extramarital tryst with an Argentine woman. But Sanford declined to step down, calling his understudy's move "pure politics, plain and simple." Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, who, like Sanford, is a Republican, said that he was in fact trying to depoliticize the deliberations over the fate of Sanford, who is facing potential impeachment.

The battle for the Republican nomination to succeed Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger took a nasty turn Saturday as a trio of Silicon Valley candidates tussled over fiscal plans and contender Meg Whitman's apparent failure to vote until she was 46 years old. Most aggressive was state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, a mapping software mogul who called on Whitman to drop out of the race for the good of the party. The former chief executive of EBay, he argued, would lead Republicans to certain defeat in a general election, thanks to the civic indifference indicated by her voting record.

If Virginia seems poised to make yet another political hairpin turn just one year after helping elect Barack Obama president, the reason might be found on Sally Linderman's front lawn and Facebook page. Linderman, 69, is typical of the newly energized Republican voters hellbent to make sure Robert F. McDonnell wins the race for governor Tuesday. She attended two rallies in the same week, has four signs stuck in her yard and even figured out how to post one on her Facebook page for the GOP candidate.

Re "Rod's Law? Don't need it," editorial, April 2 The Times' editorial sidesteps the central issue in the debate over gubernatorial appointments to fill vacant Senate seats -- that these appointments deprive Americans of the right to elect their own senators. Throughout our history, the Constitution has been amended to expand the right to vote. But allowing governors to appoint senators infringes on that right. Our proposed amendment would ensure that the people of a given state get to choose who will represent them in the U.S. Senate.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday made two appointments to the University of California Board of Regents, the panel that governs the 10-campus system. George Kieffer, a prominent Los Angeles attorney and UCLA law school graduate, previously served as an alumni representative on the board and as president of the California Community Colleges Board of Governors. Kieffer is a Democrat. Charlene Zettel of Encinitas served as a Republican in the Assembly for one term and later was director of the state Department of Consumer Affairs.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Tuesday that its annual branch elections of governors have resulted in the reelection of nine incumbents, the selection of four new governors and the return of one -- Tom Hanks -- after taking a year off. And in an academy first, there will be a runoff for governor of the directors branch between candidates Gilbert Cates and Edward Zwick. New to the academy Board are James D. Bissell, art directors branch; Lynne Littman, documentary; Robert G. Friedman, public relations; and Bill Kroyer, short films and feature animation.

It was the way she stood there, enduring. Silda Wall Spitzer did not say a word as her husband, Gov. Eliot Spitzer, brusquely apologized to his family and the public after he was allegedly caught on a wiretap doing business with a high-priced prostitution ring. Her face was drawn. But she took her husband's hand as they left the room. This scandal has many salacious details, but it was the image of Silda Wall Spitzer at her man's side that dominated conversations across the country Tuesday.

New details emerged Wednesday about the purported call girl at the center of the prostitution scandal engulfing New York's governor, with a newspaper report identifying her as a 22-year-old aspiring musician from Manhattan. The New York Times reported that the real name of the woman -- identified as Kristen in court papers alleging that Gov. Eliot Spitzer paid more than $4,000 for prostitutes' services -- is Ashley Alexandra Dupre. Don D.