Sansom begins new job, plans to stay

House Speaker Ray Sansom is not buckling under controversy over his appointment as vice president of NW Florida State College. Despite some calls for him to resign the $110,000-a-year position, he is staying put.

"I am very proud to be a college administrator," Sansom said this afternoon in a telephone interview with the St. Petersburg Times during his first day on the job. "I hope to be here for the rest of my professional career."

Might that also include taking over as president? "I’ll cross that bridge if and when that opportunity ever comes up," Sansom said, praising current president Bob Richburg.

Despite more questions over his dealings with the school, Sansom again said he is a member of a citizen Legislature and brings experience in education to the table. (He has a master's in education and has worked for the Okaloosa County School Board.)

"Every legislator on Florida has another job. We have doctors. We have lawyers. We have insurance agents. … We are in tune with what’s happening because we’re out in the work force. I would not want to see the state of Florida Legislature turn into California and have full-time legislators. You lose touch with your community and you lose touch with your profession."

Sansom stressed that the construction money for his new employer came from a fund earmarked by law for capital projects and that it could not have gone to other uses, such as teacher salaries.

The public education capital outlay money was used across the state, he added, to build up colleges and stimulate the economy.

"The PECO list is put together by legislators, the House and the Senate, and the governor signs it. Everything is very transparent and very clear. It's a collective decision," Sansom said.

As for turning a $1-million budget allocation into $25.5-million during budget negotiations this spring, Sansom said it was one of 12 projects that legislative leaders and the governor agreed should get accelerated funding "because the money was there this year."

The funds will be used to renovate existing space at the Niceville campus and add a third floor to a building for the college's leadership institute.

"We're doing our job. We're trying to fund projects for colleges across the state. There is a need in St. Petersburg, in Miami and" in North Florida, Sansom said.

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Comments

And Ted Stevens' bridge to nowhere was "transparent" as well. That doesn't make it a good use of Florida taxpayers declining dollars. Nor does it make former speaker, convicted felon Bo Johnson's bridge to nowhere the best use of taxpayers dollars, and the same college president hired him as well.

The arguments he makes are what has us in a growing federal and state deficit, and taxpayers are paying for it all. Enough!

Alex, good question, which was dodged:

Might that also include taking over as president? "I’ll cross that bridge if and when that opportunity ever comes up," Sansom said, praising current President Bob Richburg.

Turn the 100,000 plus job into one that will be double or triple that before it's over it sounds like.

would that be Ted Steven's or Bo's bridge he will cross when he gets to it? my guess is either or both, whatever is politically necessary.

The Case for Ray Sansom -

You need to get off of Sansom's back. Here are the facts as I know them:

1) Ray Sansom is elected to represent a district that includes this college. As such, he has every responsibility to bring that college the resources it needs to succeed.

2) Ray Sansom does not make one penny more or less based on whether he appropriates zero dollars or $100 million dollars. This is not a business owned by Sansom, it is a college that serves thousands of Sansoms students and constituents.

3) No taxpayer money is being used to pay Sansom. This job is being funded through the foundation, which is not funded by state dollars.

4) Sansom openly disclosed his hire. They announced it the day he was elected speaker. It was not done in the shadows. It was highly transparent, and they could have just plodded along.

5) Sansom being there is great for a traditionally underrepresented group in our state. Having a speaker advocating for the community and state college system is a GREAT thing, not a bad one.

6) We have a citizen legislature that pays something around 2200 dollars a month after taxes to our legislators. For that, they are expected to spend four or five months a year in Tallahassee, campaign for office in their down time, and disclose every dollar earned at any time. The architects of our state constitution understood and believed that legislators should have a job, AND serve.

7) Sansom is highly qualified for the job at hand. His rolodex is worth ten times as much as the college would pay him. He has a bachelor and a masters degree, and has experience with the local county commission, state government and the school board.

In conclusion, this is not the first time its a problem, and its probably not the last.

Tom Feeney, John Thrasher, Marco Rubio and Johnny Byrd were lawyers. Legislators make laws.

Allan Bense owned a road construction firm? Legislators appropriate road dollars.

Ray works for a community college.

Dean Cannon works for a staffing firm. Are his aggressive efforts towards recruiting biotech and aerospace businesses here nothing more than a ploy for more business?

Will Weatherford and Chris Dorworth are both developers. So were Bob Graham and Jeb Bush for that matter.

Dorworth is doubly culpable. According to the Seminole Community College website, he's the chairman of their board of trustees. He no doubt gets free coffee, so should he resign that post? Neither gets paid a dime by the state, but Dorworth actually controls where every dollar inside the college gets spent.

Silly me, I actually think its NOBLE to see members of the legislature professionally and personally invested in their institutions of higher ed. I applaud Sansom and Dorworth.

Bottom line - leave Ray alone.

[George A. Minifer]

To my fellow bloggers, I invite you to voice your displeasure directly to the horse's mouths, so to speak. Why not e-mail our fair Governor, Ray "Porkbelly" Sansom, and the rest of the den of thieves?

Governor Charlie Crist
ccristjr@tampabay.rr.com

Ray Sansom
ray.sansom@myfloridahouse.gov

Mike Hansen
karenmoul@aol.com

Dr. James Richburg
richburg@nwfstatecollege.edu

Janice Gilley
gilley.janice@myfloridahouse.gov

Karen Camechis
camechis.karen@myfloridahouse.gov

Natalie Simpson
simpson.natalie@myfloridahouse.gov

Samantha Sullivan
sullivan.samantha@myfloridahouse.gov

[Harry Truman]

And now enter from stage right the professional apologists, the NOBLE ones, aka political consultants/lobbyists making far more than Sansom, or the college president, or the funding he provided the college, who raise the money to prop up these weak and frail flacks.

Dear "leave Ray alone" -- how much did you and your firm contribute to his campaign so you can get your contribution paid off in the upcoming years, which according to him will not have any turkey's in future years?

In a Democracy, where we actually expect higher than you do it seems of our elected officials, we do not "leave Ray alone" because we would like to have our tax dollars used in a fair and equitable way for all, if not released, not just the panhandle. You nor I can do anything about the past politicians you mention and use to divert attention or justify as "everyone does it", but the current ones we can. We should only ask of them what we would ask for our kids.....do the right thing. Can you? If not, your "political support of failed and corrupt politicians" days are limited.

Nice try 7:01. The real facts are as follows:

1.) Sansom, with the help of Mike Hanson and Bob Ward, secretly funneled tens of millions of taxpayer dollars toward a community college. When he says it was a transparent process he is lying. From what I hear he also slipped in some money for St. Joe.
2.) He did this at the exact same time that he was telling other legislators there was no money in the budget for member projects.

Lying, arrogance, hypocrisy...all in a days work I guess.

Luckily for the rest of us he has no other offices to run for. He can crawl back in the hole he crawled out of and take over for his crony Richburg at his dinky little community college.

Bottom line - it's going to be a long two years!

Amen, 7:33. Sansom's little gig is nothng more than what we in Miami call a "botella."

The most disturbing part of all this is that I guarantee Sansom see's NOTHING wrong with any of this. It's one thing to be a run of the mill corrupt politician looking to hustle the system, but this guy is different. He's a Johnnie Byrd clone...paranoid, arrogant, incapable of self-criticism.

I've never met a politician who engenders less loyalty from current and former staff/people who have worked around him. When someone's staff doesn't think enough of their boss to go to bat for him that tells me all I need to know.

7:01 nice try buddy, but saying it doesn't make it so.

[sara palin]

We "soon to be has beens" have to be supportive of each other....Ray, when you go maverick, ya know, people you dis'ed are not gonna be happy! Time to pay the piper. We kinda got a little problem up here in Alaska with Ted Stevens too, ya know, but don't worry, it will all blow over. Wanna be my runnin mate in 2012?

Ray Sansom you are right - we do have a citizen Legislature. Does that mean that all "citizens" who serve in the Legislature should have high paid government jobs created especially for them?

Nice try tubby, you're still a hypocrite.

His staff told other community colleges and state universities that there was no more PECO money for buildings that were on the approved list, yet he found extra money for his community college. C'mon!!!

[Ted Stevens and Bill Young]

you guys in south florida and central florida been had. Come on up and we'll give you some lessons on how to really take the bacon home since that's clearly how the game is to be played. Tallahassee has learned a lot from us in D.C. Dem's are quiet on all this, smartly, because their time has now arrived in D.C. and they will make Ray a nobody soon with the pork they will bring home.

[the scapegoat]

7:01 you are one tenacious monkey.

3) No taxpayer money...funded through the foundation,...
The foundation receives its money from whom? Adoring fans? Well wisher? Tourist? Could I sent money to the foundation as a pay back for services rendered by Mr. Sansom? That is the trend these days. Set up a money laundering operation. Write a book, take the cash advance and have those that owe you buy 100k copies each. That's how Clinton did it.

6) We have a citizen legislature ...
And it should be that way. They get elected, serve their district for two or four years and leave. No gifts, No gratuities, No new job that they so happen to create as a legislature. Why would anyone raise and spend a million dollars on a $30,000/yr job? These guys go their to get rich on the taxpayers dime!

There is nothing wrong with this in the eyes of the Republicans. After all, might makes right . . . Right?

who's gonna file the ethics complaint?

I'm mean, come on Democrats, at least find one of your cronies to do the bidding. I cannot believe the emptiness of the FDP.

Sands needs to step up and call for an investigation of the allegations surrounding this affair.

8:12,

No taxpayer money goes into university foundations. They are funded through contributions (from corporations, alums, etc.).

All universities have them and all foundations have employees. None of these employees are paid from taxpayer dollars.

9:32, what kind of weak defense of Sansom's actions is this? Even if the pot that Sansom's money is different, he is using money that by all rights shouldn't have been appropriated to this institution. People from the other community colleges across Florida should be plenty mad at this fellow. This matter deserves a full investigation and heads should roll if the Sansom obtained this money through the subversion of staff.

[James]

110k for a part-time job - pretty good gig!
who in the legislature is gonna stand up and look at this in an objective manner???
not surprising that this will be ignored, business as usual - one of their own getting his.
don't mind the smell... it'll go away.

9:32 - yes, it is the payback fund for Sansom directing state funds their way... the same type of funds used to buy outgoing university presidents cars and other expensive toys that don't need to be reported to the state...

so bite me

What about the medical schools that were funded? Didn't Rubio get a job at FIU? And what about all the democrats that are on payrolls of school districts for non-existent jobs?
They get funding from the legislature, is it just coincidence that republicans are in institutions of higher learning?
In either case, this is SOP.

How about requiring full disclosure of employment information and revenue sources for salaries, just like the financial information is required.

Thi

[Alexa]

What a stooge. He actually thinks the people of Florida won't care. He has already derailed his speakership from day 1. What a waste.

No wonder tuition is going up. Shameful.

Re: Rubio and the two new medical schools. If I recall correctly, the legislature created the new medical schools before Rubio became Speaker. What does that have to do with this?