Remmington Governor Makes Geography Gaffe

Stevens-Taylor mixes up cities during speech

DRY SPRINGS, REM--Remmington Governor Jen Stevens-Taylor (CNS) was geographically confused Friday when he confused the names of two of the state's cities.

Stevens-Taylor was in the town of Dry Springs, located in Helona County in southeastern Remmington, taking part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new medical facility. However, during a short speech, the governor mistakenly thanked the residents of Redmand for inviting him to the event. It wasn't until Helona County Commissioner Mitch Kalliman corrected him that the governor realized his mistake and apologized for the mix-up.

"I guess I'm in Dry Springs, not Redmand," he joked. "I need to get my geography straightened out."

A spokesman for the County Commissioners' office said none of the local leaders were offended by the slip-up.

"It was just an honest mistake. No one was offended. It was clear the governor just misspoke," the spokesman, whose name was not identified, told the National Federated Press.

Redmand, the city the governor accidentally mentioned, is the state's second-largest city, located in Redmand County in eastern Remmington near the Damoign border.

State Nationalists have a different take on the governor's mistake, however, saying it's proof that Stevens-Taylor is not familiar with the state.

"It's clear that Jen Stevens-Taylor does not know the state of Remmington," Don Fleischer, the state NAT chairman told the Remmington Star newspaper. "Remmingtonians should be able to expect their governor to know the town they live in. That's not too much to ask for," he said.

The governor's office responded, saying state Nationalists are trying to make a simple mix-up into a political issue.

"It was an honest mistake and the governor apologizes if anyone was offended," spokeswoman Melinda Segal said. "Governor Stevens-Taylor knows the state of Remmington through and through. He is unquestionably familiar with the state's geography and people, so it's obvious this was just a slip-of-the-tongue."

The state Conservative party also responded to the NAT attack.

"How petty has the Remmington Nationalist party become when it starts releasing press releases and posting videos on You Tube about the governor inadvertently naming the wrong city," Bob Drollands, state CNS chairman told STAR News. "This is ridiculous. It's a political attack, and the people of Remmington will see right through this."

NAT Senator James Owen-Wilson, who ran unsuccessfully against Stevens-Taylor in the 2008 gubernatorial race, told STAR Radio News Monday that the governor's misstatement was "dumb" but "unintentional."

"Well I certainly wouldn't have mixed up Dry Springs and Redmand. That's kind of dumb," Owen-Wilson said. "But I don't think he did it on purpose. I'm sure it was unintentional."

Stevens-Taylor's gaffe comes just a month after the state's lieutenant governor, Heather Scantino, mistakenly referred to Winston as the second-largest city in the state during a speech in Jannappa. Scantino is the first female state-wide official in Remmington history, and is the youngest person to ever hold the lieutenant governor's office.