Today's Daily Schadenfreude: Ray Sansom

See, this is what happens to politicians when they get, as they say here in America's Taint™, "too big for their britches." Power most definitely corrupts, and in Florida, Exhibit A for that adage right now is former state House speaker Ray Sansom (R-Defendant).

Already facing a charge of official misconduct for his role in arranging a sweetheart deal with Northwest Florida State College for his developer pal Jay Odom and for taking a $110,000-a-year job with NFSC in apparent exchange for having routed millions of budget dollars there over the years, Sansom was hit with an additional charge of perjury yesterday. The Republican from Destin now matches former NFSC president Bob Richburg, who already had been charged with both offenses, and Odom also was indicted for official misconduct in the bargain.

Odom, a developer and major contributor to the Florida Republican Party and Sansom's political causes, was not [previously] indicted. But State Attorney Willie Meggs said information obtained in the past five weeks indicated that Odom was involved with Sansom and Richburg in a plan to make a hangar for his jets look like a "multi-use" center for emergency management during hurricanes, or a classroom facility for the Niceville college.

Meggs said the official-misconduct law applying to Sansom and Richburg, who held public offices, also covers any citizen who "becomes a principle" [sic] by inducing or assisting misconduct.

"You don't even have to be present when the crime occurs," Meggs said.

He said the added perjury charge against Sansom, who has stepped down as speaker but remains a member of the House, was brought because he denied that the airport building was meant for Odom.

"Basically, we had Rep. Sansom's grand jury testimony transcribed," said Meggs. "The intent and plan was for Jay Odom to use the building."

He said Sansom repeatedly testified "that no individual was going to use that building, no private individual would have use of the building."

In passing the 2007-08 budget, Meggs said, "the Legislature was misled by that appropriation because the building that was being built was actually an aircraft hangar."

He said Odom was indicted because "he was in fact a participant in getting this funding through Rep. Sansom. We found a document, a lease, where he was going to move aircraft into this building as soon as it was built." Meggs said the lease was found in college files after Richburg left.

I'm not saying every Republican is corrupt. I'm also not saying there are no corrupt Democrats. But it seems patently obvious that the GOP shoulders the lion's share of malfeasance, at least in Florida (see, e.g., Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp). And the Sansom thing has smelled pretty rank for months now; lying to the Legislature only adds to the stench.

I don't know -- maybe I take this issue a little personally, since the job given to Sansom at the community college was basically the same gig I had at another college some years ago, and being out of work right now, I hate to see a job for which I'm qualified go to an undeserving legislator as a quid pro quo for services rendered. But it does my heart -- and my confidence -- good to see Sansom and his cronies get what they deserve: indictments, trips to court soon and, one can hope, a little time behind bars (unlikely, I know, but a guy can dream, can't he?).

So now, Ray, you've got two indictments staring you down. But the silver lining, of course, is that once again, you have something to celebrate ... because today's Blast Off! Daily Schadenfreude* is for you!

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* You know, if this keeps up, I just may name the whole Daily Schadenfreude award for Sansom. And, boy, do I hope it keeps up!

If they can't have Sansom, they don't want anyone

Say you are the president of a college, and you're going to pay someone $110,000 a year for a job. And say you hire for this job -- without any kind of search whatsoever -- a state legislator who just might have used his political influence to secure millions of dollars of extra funding for your college. And then say that the ensuing scandal causes the legislator to resign the job.

Well, good thing you've still got that $110,000 so you can conduct a search and hire someone else, right?

Not so fast, my friend. Apparently that's not the way it works if you're Bob Richburg of Northwest Florida State College and you hired former Florida House speaker Ray Sansom. No, suddenly that $110,000 isn't available anymore. Go figure ...

Northwest Florida State College president Bob Richburg wasted little time filling a vacancy and awarding a $110,000 job to Rep. Ray Sansom.

So rushed were the negotiations, it seems, that Richburg did not have time to place the unadvertised job on the college trustee agenda on Nov. 18 -- the same day Sansom was sworn in as House Speaker.

But now after Sansom has quit the job and lost the speakership, Richburg is not rushing to fill the job once again. He says he is putting it on hold to see how the Legislature deals with the budget crisis.

Well, color me shocked. There wasn't a budget crisis last fall? There wasn't a reason to wait and see before makign a six-figure expenditure? Or, alternatively, if there wasn't a reason then, what's changed now?

I'll tell you what's changed: they can't give Sansom his reward anymore. If you ask me, though, their mistake here was not waiting for Sansom to be out of office before giving him his Wingnut Welfare ...

Today's Daily Schadenfreude: Ray Sansom

While it may be a bit premature to declare this a case of "justice triumphing over evil," since criminal and ethics investigations still are pending, at least one corrupt Republican (yeah, I know -- redundant) is facing the well-deserved music today.

Reports out of Tallahassee indicate that Florida House Speaker Ray Sansom (R-Destin), whose allegedly improper dealings with Northwest Florida State College have been chronicled extensively here at Blast Off! (click the "Ray Sansom" label at the bottom of this post for complete coverage) and elsewhere, will resign his leadership position (although not his House seat) today.

This is a great victory for all of us who believe that our elected leaders should be responsible and free from even the appearance of impropriety with regard to their official duties. Sansom didn't just abuse Floridians' trust -- he beat the high holy shit out of it.

We'll have to wait and see whether the House investigation and/or the courts can give Sansom what he truly deserves: the loss of his legislative seat altogether and maybe even (dare to dream ...) a while behind bars to think about what he's done. But until then, we can enjoy his resignation from the speakership in disgrace.

Aw, cheer up, Ray. I'm sure you'll eventually find plenty of Wingnut Welfare to keep you in the style to which you've become accustomed. In the meantime, though, you can enjoy this award, because today's Blast Off! Daily Schadenfreude is for you!

Today's Daily Schadenfreude: Ray Sansom

Florida House Speaker Ray Sansom (R-Destin) finds himself in a bit deeper hot water than he anticipated, I imagine. And I, for one, am delighted.

If you've been reading Blast Off! lately, you've probably been keeping up with Sansom's saga, where he allegedly used his political influence in Tallahassee to secure disproportionate funding for Northwest Florida State College (NFSC), which then, without a search, gave him a $110,000-a-year job. Nice work if you can get it ...

Well, today Sansom (right) got a well-deserved double whammy:

A grand jury today began an investigation of Florida House Speaker Ray Sansom's dealings with Northwest Florida State College.

State Attorney Willie Meggs said the 21 jurors took up a complaint about Sansom and his [role] in steering $35 million to the college, his $110,000-a-year job that he's set to quit Jan. 31 and his [sic] a college project that appears to benefit a campaign contributor.

In a related development, House Rules Committee Chairman Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, asked for appointment of a special counsel to investigate complaints against Sansom. Galvano said it wouldn't look impartial, if a House committee appointed by the powerful speaker investigated Sansom.

Galvano said he doesn't know if the House will hire an outside investigator or turn it over to Attorney General Bill McCollum, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement or some other investigative agency. The committee received a citizen complaint saying Sansom failed to fulfill his legislative obligation to carry out his duties without the appearance of conflicts.

In the immortal words of Flounder (left), "Oh, boy, is this gonna be great!" Not only does Sansom face a grand jury investigation, but the House itself is going to look into his dealings -- led by a member of his own party! Yes, the schadenfreude is rich tonight, isn't it? Sure, Sansom quit the newly-acquired job at NFSC, but by then the damage was already done.

I don't know what's worse: Sansom's actual conduct, or the fact that he obviously and arrogantly thought he could get away with it. Isn't it patently obvious to anyone with half a brain that if you're a legislator, and you grant special favors to someone or something, and that someone or something ultimately gives you a really nice job without so much as an interview, you might get in a little trouble? It must be nice to live without a conscience ...

Well, Ray, I don't know whether you'll be prosecuted, censured, reprimanded, or spanked for what you did, but regardless of the outcome, you'll be wiping egg off your face for quite some time. But lest you think your typical Republican hubris went totally unrewarded, remember this prize, for today's Blast Off! Daily Schadenfreude is for you!

Silence isn't always golden

As the saga of Florida House Speaker Ray Sansom's corrupt bargain with Northwest Florida State College (NFSC) continues, it appears that, like so many Republican wrongdoers, he may end up getting away with it. That is, unless pressure from the mainstream corporate media causes him to buckle, and as we all know, that's an unlikely prospect.

Today, even more e-mails are coming to light that, according to the St. Petersburg Times, show Sansom's emerging role "as an eager-to-please subordinate to [NFSC] president Bob Richburg."

In the e-mails provided in response to a public records request, Richburg's many requests for assistance are greeted [by Sansom] with enthusiasm and optimism.

• "I will get to work on funds."

• "I will get right on this."

• "Just give us the word."

• "This looks great! Next step?"

With two sessions to go before he leaves the Legislature, Sansom's dealings are coming under scrutiny as he eschews widespread calls to resign the $110,000 per year job [at NFSC] — which he got on the same day last month he was sworn in as House speaker.

The 46-year-old Destin Republican denies a connection between the job and the tens of millions he has secured for the school at Richburg's urging. In the past two years, the small school has gotten $35-million more than what had been budgeted by the state Department of Education.

Tom Slade, former head of the Republican Party of Florida, said Sansom's relationship with the college "doesn't pass the smell test" and tramples on the principles the GOP stood behind to take control of the Legislature more than a decade ago.

"We were able to say, 'When we're in control, you can expect us to be very honorable and very disciplined with spending.' But when something of this nature rolls along," Slade said, "it taints the legislative process and it taints the party."

Whether it's Drunky McStagger or Ronald Reagan in Washington or Ray Sansom in Tallahassee, can we all finally admit that the days of the "less-government" GOP are over? It certainly makes the old charge by Republicans that Democrats are "tax-and-spend liberals" ring hollow and hackneyed, doesn't it?

But more to this specific point: it almost goes without saying at this point that Sansom improperly (and, likely, illegally) used his legislative influence to secure his NFSC job ... or at the very least, the college was more than willing to give him the job as a thank-you for his legislative favor. Yet, this obvious breach of electoral responsibility is being met with little more than indifference in Tallahassee.

House Democratic leader Franklin Sands two weeks ago urged Sansom to explain his actions on using the budget to help the college, lest they "fester" and "cast a haze over the Legislature and its work."

Sansom's fellow Republicans have said nothing. A rare exception is freshman Rep. Rachel Burgin, 26, of Brandon, who told BayNews 9's Political Connections: "To be honest, it's a little bit difficult. People hold us responsible for actions, regardless who the leader is."

The silence is not surprising. After all, the Florida Legislature is a closed society with its own rituals and rules. But a public already outraged over Sansom's conduct appears to be now growing more impatient with his colleagues' refusal to even address it.

"Our household is so disgusted with the current Florida legislators for not speaking out and condemning what Speaker Sansom has done in enriching himself and bestowing favors to his college," Marilyn Weaver wrote to two Pinellas lawmakers.

"Why isn't he being investigated?" Arnold Gundersen pointedly asked Rep. John Legg, R-New Port Richey.

[...]

This prolonged silence by Sansom's colleagues can be viewed in one of two ways.

As speaker, Sansom holds life-or-death power over members' lives, from parking spaces to committee assignments, so they fear retribution if they criticize him.

By staying silent, however, Republicans in closely contested districts run the risk of handing a juicy political issue to Democrats in 2010.

The silence on this matter is more than troubling -- it's disgusting.

If a Democrat had done the sorts of things Sansom has done, it would be on the front page of every newspaper in Florida. It would be national news, broadly covered on Fox and CNN and MSNBC. And the Republicans would be calling for the miscreant's political head on a pike. You know it's true -- don't even try to deny it.

Yet just as sweet little Nancy Pelosi took impeachment off the table, thereby allowing the Bush crime syndicate to continue its nefarious activities without fear of retribution or adverse consequences, so too does corruption in Tallahassee bear bitter fruit for citizens who want nothing more than honest lawmakers who work on behalf of those who elected them to office, not themselves. And we hardly can count on the bought-and-paid-for mainstream corporate media to press the issue -- I'm frankly amazed that the Times has done as much as it has on this. Even worse, given past history, I'm not very sanguine about the Democrats' ability to make political hay with this in 2010.

The Sansom story should be more than one newspaper's isolated tirade. It should be a cause célèbre throughout Florida and even nationally, a glaring example of the excesses of unfettered power and Republican selfishness. Sansom should be driven out of office in disgrace. But I have little confidence that it will result in anything more than a ripple in the water, because for the GOP in Tallahassee and, indeed, in America, it's just business as usual.

Republicans and corruption: they go together like like rama lama lama ka dinga da dinga dong

Things aren't getting much easier for Florida House Speaker Ray Sansom (R-Destin).

Blast Off! has been covering the ever-widening scandal that arose from Sansom improperly (and quite likely illegally) using his political connections not only to get increased funding for Northwest Florida State College, but a cushy new job, too. And today we find out that the quid pro quo wasn't just for Sansom's job, or just for the next legislative session: indeed, there's an expectation of ongoing funding increases for the college, to the tune of upwards of $122 million.

The president of the college where Ray Sansom now works provided him with a "pricey" $122-million funding request over five years with the implicit expectation that Sansom would help "make it a reality."

Sansom, who got the request in February, took care of the first part. This year, he secured $25.5-million in the budget for a student services building at Northwest Florida State College -- $24.5-million more than the Department of Education requested.

Records obtained today by the Times/Herald show the college wanted $18-million in PECO funds in the upcoming fiscal year (at some point, the request was pared back to $13.2-million, a figure we already reported. The DOE has recommended only $748,000).

The big payoff was to come in Sansom's final year in the House, with $34-million. Then in the two years following, the college wanted an additional $45-million.

All told, the college laid out a five-year plan to obtain $122.5-million. "It's a pricey list ... hopefully we can make it a reality," President Bob Richburg wrote to Sansom on Feb. 26, 2008.

Ho-lee crap. How much hubris must you have to think you can get hired (without a search) by the college for which you secured millions of dollars in funding, and it won't raise eyebrows? It's astonishing, it's shocking, it's pitiful ... and, as usual, it's par for the course for Republicans, who must feel that they can get away with pretty much anything.

Having worked in Florida's community college system (of which NFSC is a part, despite its new name), I know how critical those state funds are to the colleges' operations. So for one college to get such a vastly disproportional amount isn't just a taxpayer issue, but it affects the entire system by limiting the funding that can go to the other 27 colleges.

In short, this stinks. And Sansom would be wise to either relinquish his new $110,000-a-year job at NFSC or step down from the speakership ... before he gets indicted. Now that's a holiday bonus ...

Florida House Speaker Ray Sansom: just another corrupt Republican

It hasn't even been two weeks since the story broke about Florida House Speaker Ray Sansom (R-Destin) and his sweet $110,000 gig at a college that, through his government connections, received millions of dollars from an otherwise tight state budget. Now, it turns out Sansom wasn't even discreet about exploiting his political position for personal gain.

House Speaker Ray Sansom, R-Destin, sought a $110,000-a-year job at Northwest Florida State College by faxing in his application from his state office.

[...]

Public records provided to The Palm Beach Post also show that no other candidate was considered for the position of vice president of planning and development and that Sansom's application was a late addition to the board of trustees' consent agenda, which means it was not included on a public notice of the meeting. Both actions are acceptable under state law but generally frowned upon by good-government advocates.

A job description shows that Sansom will, among other tasks, help the school in its transition into the state college system. Formerly known as Okaloosa-Walton Community College, it was given a state college designation under a bill that Sansom guided through the legislature this year.

The job description also includes a doctorate as a preferred qualification; Sansom's highest degree is a master's in education.

[...]

Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Karen Thurman has called on Sansom to give up his speaker's designation or resign from the college position.

Ben Wilcox, of Florida Common Cause, said faxing the college application from the state office, which prints on each page of the document that it was sent from the "Office of the Speaker," could be seen as a reminder to the school of his powerful position.

"The fact that he steered millions to the school and then sent an application from the speaker's office, I find that unbelievable," Wilcox said.

Like most Republicans, Sansom engages in corruption as easily as he breathes. I mean, I know from personal experience that the Florida community college -- or state college (whatever) -- system is hyperpolitical, but this is beyond the pale even in an environment where who you know is far more important than what you know.

Shorter me: Sansom's got some 'splainin' to do.

Wingnut welfare for Ray Sansom ... and he's not even out of office!

It used to be that Wingnut Welfare -- Republicans arranging jobs for themselves or their cronies in exchange (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) for certain political favors -- didn't come into play until the wingnut in question was, or was about to be, out of office. For example, Marco Rubio (R-Miami), the batshit crazy former speaker of the Florida house, landed a sweet gig at FIU once he was term-limited out of office.

But, like equally batshit crazy state Sen. Mike Haridopolos (R-Indialantic), who secured a cushy job at the University of Florida while still in office, Rubio's successor as speaker, Ray Sansom (R-Destin), managed to get a six-figure position at Northwest Florida State College ("NFSC," formerly Okaloosa-Walton Community College), which just happened to benefit from millions of legislative dollars that just happened to be steered their way by Sansom, who just happened to chair the House Policy and Budget Council.

The assistance, documented in a memo the St. Petersburg Times obtained this week through a public records request, highlights the close relationship between Sansom and the college president, Bob Richburg.

Last week that affiliation burst into public view when Sansom was given a $110,000 job as a vice president at the college.

It came on the same day Sansom was sworn in as speaker of the Florida House, a juxtaposition that has elicited cries of cronyism.

Sansom, who has a master's degree in education, denies any correlation and says he was merely doing his job as a citizen legislator.

But the extra $24.5-million was not the only boon to the school, renamed Northwest Florida State College in July under legislation Sansom supported that boosted the school's ability to offer bachelor's degrees.

State records show the college received $1-million more than initially budgeted for an extension center in Walton County and $105,000 more than initially budgeted for general renovation.

Sansom also got $750,000 added to the budget for "startup funds" for the college's leadership institute, according to records the House released Wednesday. The Times reported last week that it got $200,000, but that was based on a preliminary request.

The amount ballooned some time before a Dec. 5, 2007, meeting between Sansom and college president Richburg. A memo from the meeting details how the two discussed accelerating funding — hence $1-million becoming $25.5-million.

That was the single-largest public education capital outlay (PECO) award for community college projects this year.

Not even Miami-Dade College, which has 160,000 students to Northwest Florida State College's 15,000, fared better in a single budget line.

I've worked in Florida's community college system, and I have never seen a more politically charged, "good ol' boy" atmosphere anywhere in my professional career. See, the problem here is not that NFSC got state money ... it's the fact that it got such a disproportionate amount of state money that raises eyebrows -- and questions.

The PECO money is hard to come by -- I know from working in community colleges and state universities. The schools battle for it tooth-and-nail, trying to secure funds for much needed classroom space, faculty offices, and the like. Particularly in these difficult budget times, isn't it just a little bit curious that NFSC gets a huge chunk of money and then hires Ray Sansom?

In law, we call it "avoiding the appearance of impropriety." Needless to say, Sansom and NFSC, even if they haven't done anything wrong or illegal (and I find that a dubious proposition at best), hardly have avoided the appearance of impropriety. This needs to be investigated and, if any wrongdoing is found, punished accordingly. Otherwise, it's just business as usual for Florida Republicans.