 [Just The News] Democrat Ralph Northam invoked executive privilege to initially block release of travel dates but relented on appeal.
On a Saturday night in the dead of August last year, Virginia taxpayers footed the bill as a state-operated plane roared from Richmond to one of North Carolina's desirable beach destinations. The King Air 350 turboprop made the journey twice in six hours.
The VIP passengers? Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam and his wife, Pamela, the first lady of Virginia.
The listed purpose for a back-and-forth jaunt? The Northams took a brief break Aug. 31, 2019 from their Outer Banks beach vacation home in Manteo, N.C., to attend a horse race at the Colonial Downs track back in their home state and ceremoniously hand out a trophy to the winner. Then, they went back to the beach.
The trip is one of about two dozen that the Northams took to and from their beach home at taxpayer's expense since January 2019, spending part or all of 65 days in the North Carolina resort community, according to travel records obtained by Just the News under Virginia's Freedom of Information Act.
The governor's public calendar posted online for citizens to see does not show the trips or dates, and when Just the News first sought the records, Northam invoked executive privilege to deny release of his office calendar notations showing the dates he stayed at the beach home.
Just the News appealed, and the governor's office on Wednesday night relented and provided the calendar notations for his Outer Banks trips.
Those records show Northam spent about 13% of his last 505 days in office at his out-of-state beach home, which he first bought more than a decade ago as a private doctor before he was elected to the Virginia legislature or governor's mansion.
Dare County, N.C., tax records show the Northams' beach home is valued at more than $579,000, was built in 2001, and has four bedrooms and three bathrooms spread out over more than 2,500 square feet.
The governor's spokeswoman said Northam makes no apologies for the frequent trips, which cost taxpayers pilot time, driver time, fuel, and security detail expenses.
"The Governor has owned his house on the Outer Banks for over 16 years, prior to entering politics. He and the First Lady sold their Hampton Roads home (a short drive from Manteo) shortly after moving to the Executive Mansion, but like other governors, he continues to maintain a property outside of Richmond," spokeswoman Alena Yarmosky told Just the News.
"He travels there occasionally on the weekends, but has not been there since travel restrictions were put in place, nor since Stay at Home Orders went into effect. As you know, it is required that a governor's security detail go where the governor goes ‐ as with previous governors, this includes travel to their properties outside of the Executive Mansion," she added.
Emails released under the FOIA show that Northam's aides on some occasions had to schedule official events around the first family's many trips to Manteo, or decline invitations for official appearances. For instance, a June 5, 2019 email from aide David Cary to the first lady declined an invitation for her to attend a state business opening because she was going to be at the beach house.
"Just an FYI that this invite came in today for a day when you are in Manteo. I congratulated them on the opening and thanked them for thinking of us but said that evening doesn't work," Carey wrote the first lady. 
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