Thurman: Sansom needs to resign

Florida Democratic Party chairwoman Karen Thurman issued a statement today saying Ray Sansom should step down from his position with Northwest Florida State College or as speaker of the Florida House.

"In response to our state's economic crisis and ballooning deficits, the Republican leaders in the Legislature, including Speaker Ray Sansom, have said that Floridians need to 'tighten their belts' and make sacrifices to justify their massive cuts to education, health care and public safety, as well as raising tuition rates on Florida's college students by as much as 15 percent. With media outlets across Florida reporting that our state was forced to cut more than $4-billion from education, health care and public safety programs, Sansom delivered more than $25-million in additional funds to Northwest Florida State College. Less than a year later, Northwest Florida State College hired Sansom for a $110,000 a year, part-time job.

"The appearance of impropriety is too great for Ray Sansom to as remain speaker and keep his job with  Northwest Florida State College; therefore it is only appropriate for him to resign from one or both jobs. In doing so, Sansom can lead by example in these tough times."

In an interview this week with the Times, Sansom said he has no intention of leaving the college. The top Democrat in the House, Rep. Franklin Sands, declined to comment on the matter Monday.

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Comments

Agree, too bad the Republicans didn't make this annoucement. What is wrong with the R party? Corruption at its finest.

[Chris Brudy]

Quid pro quo, Sansom must go.

Is that the same Thurman D Party Chief who works for Al Cardenas' law firm as a lobbyisis?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[Sally Green]

Too bad Karen doesn't say the same thing about her own self. She's head of the FL Democratic Party and a Republican lobbyist. What does that say about her? Why doesn't she resign from one of her jobs?

Sally,

It's not quite the same thing. You see, Sansom is an elected official in public service. Thurman is serves as the chair of a political party and works for a private lobbying firm. There really is not any conflict there.

However, Sansom has breached the public trust and should rightly be held accountable.

Stick to the wine Karen. Its the only thing you are good at.

Democrats are upset about cuts to education and the plight of the middle class, but they attack Ray Sansom for fighting for funds for a college that provides educational opportunities to the middle class? That makes no sense.

So this is what this whole contrived controversy has been about all along: a partisan witch hunt.

The Democrats couldn't beat Sansom at the ballot box, so now they are trying to beat him with the help of their allies in the media.

Well, this Republican agrees Sansom should go.

[Doug]

Sally:

Yes, agreed with 10:57. I don't believe Thurman is registered to lobby for the RPOF. She may lobby for causes that one identifies with RPOF interests or for a firm with RPOF ties/leanings but that's not any conflict with her position in the FDP and not the same problem Sansom faces.

11:01am and 11:03am,

I suspect you both are on the state payroll. If you both indeed are, then I'd like the portion of our tax monies that pays your salaries back. In a tight budget year, there is too little money to fund Sansom apologists.

As long as I've got your attention, I challenge you to be honest with yourselves. Was Sansom really looking out for the best interests of the middle class? Is this truly a witchhunt?

The answer to both is a resounding NO. Sansom was really looking out for the best interests of himself, lining up a plum position as president of the local state college in his district for the future. This is not witchhunt, but rather, an attempt to hold Sansom accountable for his misdeeds.

The Florida House Speaker, like Caesar's Wife, must be beyond reproach. There should never be neither an appearance of impropriety nor impropriety itself.

[You mean he hasn't resinged yet???]

Pork boy must go! Come on GOPers, this guy is one of yours. Clean house or live with the mess.

[razor]

Another Republican who believes strongly that Samson needs to resign both posts and who wishes the Republican Party had the ethical backbone to have demanded this action first.

Dear Karen, (and everyone else that wants to talk about "appearances")

You have plenty of low hanging legislator fruit in your own party, and some of them are very, very easy to reach. Start with just one easy one, and maybe you won't look like such hypocrits.

Karen, people who live in glass houses should not throw stones. If anybody should resign it should be YOU. You have been an absolute failure as Chair and have surrounded yourself with people of low moral values - not to say anything about their so-called political skills.

[John Quincy Adams]

Idiots. grow up spinmeisters. You are lightweights and we actually have brains and see through your efforts to divert attention from the corruption in this story. So everyone on the list of top contributors to Sansom, and the party, and his staff, back off or you will go down as well with this.....you're one web link away from exposure, and one tip away to a reporter for even deeper exposure.

Thurman, weak as she is, is not elected, and probably equally as bad as the arrogant, self important republican party leader Greer. Both pathetic political flacks. Weak as they are, they are not elected and not paid for by taxpayers, so let them represent the idiocy of their parties as weakly as possibly. Thank goodness there is not actually real leadership in either of these parties for the sake of our Democracy. Let the individual politicians, regardless of their party, stand on their own before voters.

The real point is that not only is Sansom an elected official, he is one of the most powerful of Florida's ELECTED officals, who is using his power for his own personal good, and stealing limited taxpayer dollars from other good and needed causes to create a job for himself, and largess for a tiny college led by a huge ego, who has outsmarted and lured into the den of greed someone who reportedly was a man of faith, honesty, ethics, and character. Hopefully it will reappear. Any friends of his should help him find his backbone and character and ethics again before he is dragged into the path of Bo Johnson, W.D., and many other soulless weaklings lured by crooks, con men, and lobbyists.

9:52 Thanks, Plaxico. We needed to hear that from you.

[Bruce]

THIS Republican thinks Samson should pack his bags and get the stench out of Tallahasse...the SOONER the better !

John Quincy Adams/10:30

Always great to hear from people that think they are smarter than everyone else. Nice choice for an alias, too, since JQA was so arrogant and sure everyone else was of inferior intelligence that he could muster no support for his policies during his one failed term as President.

Since you trumpet your own IQ, I’m suspect you are smart enough to see the need to point your “spin” comments to Thurman and other members of your Mensa chapter. It is obvious that you think no one else is smart enough to see through YOUR spinning. There are some shining examples of what you claim to be against that are too close to you for anyone but a hypocrite to ignore.