Romney expected at event in Iowa
Hub crisis control may be put on hold
With continued tunnel shutdowns in the Big Dig, Governor Mitt Romney is set to resume his political travels this weekend in Iowa, according to Republicans in that state.
Romney and his political action committee, the Commonwealth PAC, are scheduled to host a picnic lunch for Republicans in Ames on Saturday afternoon. That night, the governor is due in Cedar Rapids for a high-profile dinner with GOP donors and leaders of county party organizations.
The Iowa trip is the first major political event on Romney's calendar since the Legislature gave him inspection oversight of the Big Dig after the July 10 fatal accident in the Interstate 90 connector tunnel. He has tentative plans for more out-of-state political trips next month, as he tests the waters for a 2008 presidential run.
Yesterday, Romney aides would not say whether he will go to Iowa this weekend, saying he remained focused on his responsibility for the Big Dig. But Republican officials in Iowa are expecting him and say they haven't been told anything different.
Eric Fehrnstrom, Romney's spokesman, said in an e-mail that the governor estimates that the affected I-90 tunnel will be closed at least two months, presenting similar dilemmas in the coming weeks. ``At some point, he will travel again, but we evaluate his schedule on a day-to-day basis, and we have no announcements to make in this regard," Fehrnstrom said.
The situation illustrates the sudden clash between his political calendar, which is geared toward the possible presidential bid, and his gubernatorial calendar, which has unexpectedly been filled with tunnel tours, briefings from Big Dig officials, and press conferences.
On one hand, if Romney leaves the state on a political journey, he opens himself up to criticism at home that he's paying too little attention to the ongoing crisis in his state. But if he stays, he misses out on high-profile opportunities to impress Republican activists and voters across the country. This weekend amounts to the first test.
``Incumbent governors face that problem, because they are the chief executive of their state and different than a senator, where you're one of 100," said David Roederer, who chaired the 2004 Bush-Cheney reelection campaign in Iowa. ``It's always a dilemma, and who ever knows what the right call is?"
Romney has announced new problems and closings on Big Dig routes regularly since the July 10 accident. Yesterday he raised new questions about the safety of massive, hanging ventilation fans. That suggests his oversight role will continue for weeks, even months. Yet Romney is expected in August at events in South Carolina, Tennessee, California, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Iowa again.
Fehrnstrom noted, however, that the accident has already forced Romney to cancel events.
``Over the past three weeks, many previously scheduled commitments have been canceled," he said.
Romney has stressed to reporters that his first priority is making sure the tunnels are safe, and he has acknowledged he would have to curtail his travel ``in the early days and weeks here."
The dinner Saturday night in Cedar Rapids is one of the Iowa Republican Party's biggest fund-raisers and brings together influential party chairmen from all over the state. Romney is supposed to keynote the event, which will be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel and is expected to draw 150 to 200 people.
``It's a big deal, and we're honored to have him be there," said Cullen Sheehan, executive director of the Iowa Republican Party, adding that he had no indication Romney wasn't coming. ``It's a great opportunity for him."
Until the accident, Romney had focused increasingly on out-of-state politics: raising and spending money for the Commonwealth PAC, supporting gubernatorial candidates in his role as chairman of the Republican Governors Association, and traveling regularly to political events in states important to a presidential run. Last month, the Globe reported that from January through mid-June, Romney made at least 45 visits to 20 states and spent all or part of 81 days on the road.
As chairman of the governors association, Romney is responsible for getting Republicans elected in 36 gubernatorial races nationwide.
Philip A. Musser, executive director of the association, said the group's members, as governors, can relate to Romney's predicament.
``He's been very clear: The first priority is to make sure that the tunnels there are safe and functional and operational and no one has to cross their fingers when they go through them," Musser said. ``Our members completely understand."
Musser added that Romney recently skipped a meeting in Vermont because of the Big Dig. Asked if Romney would attend association events on the calendar in August, Musser said, ``We haven't crossed that bridge yet."
Scott Helman can be reached at shelman@globe.com. 