Electing to Sleep Elsewhere (article about governors not living in mansions)
Jodi Kantor, New York Times
ON many nights, as the sun sets over Denver, Reeves Brown finds himself alone amid the empty grandeur of the Boettcher Mansion, otherwise known as the official state residence of the governor of Colorado. Mr. Brown, who is in charge of local affairs for the state government, microwaves some soup for dinner, surrounded by a small museum’s worth of tapestries and antique Italian furniture. Then he makes his way up to a modest third-floor bedroom, where he tries to fall asleep.
Meanwhile, the intended resident, Gov. John Hickenlooper, is snugly ensconced in his own private home a few miles away. Like an increasing number of elected officials, he has chosen not to live in the grand house that comes with his job.
Mr. Hickenlooper offered to let cabinet members who live hundreds of miles away use it as a kind of dormitory, but only a few of his subordinates were interested in living there. Mr. Brown and one of his colleagues accepted the offer to stay in the main house, while the lieutenant governor, Joe Garcia, bunks next door in the carriage house, which he has outfitted with furniture from Craigslist and Goodwill.
(...)
Years ago, leaders like George E. Pataki, governor of New York at the time, would “live” in their official residences, but would actually spend many nights in their real homes. Now fewer officials are even trying to maintain that pretense.
(...)
Jerry Brown, who was criticized for not moving into state digs during his first stint as governor of California in the 1970s, turned out to be ahead of his time. When he returned to the post decades later, the mansion was gone — sold off to save money. (Mr. Brown now rents a 1,450-square-foot apartment in Sacramento.)
full: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/12/garden/when-governors-refuse-the-mansions.html?pagewanted=all
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