You can always tell when Courier Journal reporter Tom Loftus is on the trail of Gov. Matt Bevin.

Bevin gets strident and belittling and refuses to answer important questions that taxpayers have a right to know the answers to.

After Loftus broke the story that Bevin got a sweetheart deal on his mansion in Anchorage that he bought from a political appointee, the governor attacked Loftus and repeatedly called him “peeping Tom” in a juvenile effort to distract from the real ethical issues raised by the purchase.

Most recently, he attacked Loftus again for his reporting about Charles E. Grindle, Bevin’s director of the Commonwealth Office of Technology, an old Army buddy of Bevin’s who is now being paid an amazing $375,000 — after he was recently given a $215,000 raise.

Yes, a $215,000 raise.

It's enough to make some Republicans publicly question Grindle’s extravagant salary.

(If Steve Beshear had paid his buddies like that, maybe Tim Longmeyer wouldn’t have resorted to bribery. But I digress.)

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When Loftus tried to ask Bevin about Grindle and the fact that he is the highest-paid state technology chief in the nation, Bevin attacked Loftus, a member of the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame, and told him “what’s become of your career is kind of embarrassing. I don’t know if you ever get tired of asking silly questions, it’s a little tiresome to hear them sometimes — frankly, really is.”

The fact is that Loftus is an excellent reporter who has been investigating and exposing Democrats and Republicans alike for the Courier Journal for about 35 years. He’s dogged in his reporting and when a politician won’t answer a question, he’ll ask it again and again and again.

That’s what Bevin doesn’t like.

Loftus has some important questions that Bevin and Grindle have refused to answer. Neither of them are returning calls. And when Loftus has tried to ask Bevin about his old buddy on more than one occasion, Bevin has brushed him off.

So, here are some questions that Bevin owes you, the taxpayer, an answer to:

► How long have you known Grindle, and what role did your friendship play in your decision to hire him?

► Did you conduct a national search to find the best person for the job, or did you simply hire someone you knew? Why didn’t you conduct a search?

► You feel this job is so important that you made Grindle the highest-paid state employee (outside of university employees) yet you left the job vacant for nearly two years.

If the job is worthy of such a highly paid employee, why didn’t you act immediately to hire a qualified person to do the job?

► The state Finance Cabinet claimed that Grindle has saved the state $2.9 million in immediate cost reductions by managing consulting contracts and video conferencing.

Is there no one else in the U.S. who could do this — and for less money? And how do you know if you didn’t do a national search?

► Did you do any research into what other states pay their chief information officers before offering Grindle such a princely sum?

► Did you have an agreement with Grindle to ask the state legislature to raise the cap on government pay before he agreed to come here? And why didn’t you tell the legislature what you had in mind for Grindle when you sought to have the cap increased for him?

► Finally, you have given high paying jobs to your friends like former adoption czar Dan Dumas, who had no experience, produced no work product but still commanded a $240,000 salary before he abruptly resigned; and Vivek Sarin, whom you paid $250,000 to work in the state Economic Development Cabinet after the family business he ran went belly-up; and now Grindle.

Are you using taxpayers' money to make your buddies rich?

They’re not silly questions, but the governor’s refusal to answer them is a little tiresome — frankly, really is.

Joseph Gerth's opinion column runs on most Sundays and at various times throughout the week. He can be reached at 502-582-4702 or by email at jgerth@courierjournal.com. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/josephg.