Sansom's hometown paper: Speaker "deserves every bit of the grief"

The Northwest Florida Daily News just let House Speaker Ray Sansom have it in this editorial:

"Bob Richburg, longtime president of Northwest Florida State College, and Ray Sansom, newly minted speaker of the Florida House, should have known the perils of making dramatic, potentially controversial decisions outside the public's view. Perhaps they forgot what happened four years ago.

In January 2004, when Dr. Richburg's school was known as Okaloosa-Walton College, the OWC Foundation's executive committee met twice and discussed plans to sell off 13 acres that a Destin donor had given the college. An agenda for the first meeting didn't mention the land sale; the second meeting, at which committee members voted to proceed with the sale, was not publicly advertised.

When word of the decision got out, it sparked furious criticism and months of legal wrangling."

"In 2005, the attorney general's office decided that college foundations are subject to Florida's open-meetings law. A key figure who had pressed for the attorney general's opinion was ... state Rep. Ray Sansom.

Fast-forward to 2008. Dr. Richburg's and Rep. Sansom's professional lives intersected again when, on Nov. 18, the college's board of trustees approved the hiring of Sansom as the school's vice president for development and planning. The post carries a $110,000 salary and, for now, is part-time.

The vacancy was never advertised. Applications were not invited. Rep. Sansom's possible hiring wasn't mentioned on the agenda released before the meeting. Dr. Richburg had offered him the job, and then, just hours after Sansom was sworn in as House speaker, the board agreed to hire him. It was all done very quietly.

Reaction has been harsh. Critics see a potential conflict of interest in the close relationship between Rep. Sansom and the college. The St. Petersburg Times - which reported that Sansom helped snare $25.5 million for the college last spring during the state budget process - editorialized that Sansom brings with him "the lowest personal credibility in memory for a new House speaker."

The Destin Republican deserves every bit of the grief he's getting.

After having pushed for more transparency in colleges' decision-making, Rep. Sansom should have known better than to cut a deal with Dr. Richburg outside the public eye - especially a deal that's so outlandishly lucrative. A part-time job at $110,000? No wonder people are angry.

Perhaps the new House speaker will learn a couple of lessons from this episode. The first is that his new power at the state level invites new and deeper scrutiny. He had better get used to it.

The second lesson is the value of sunshine. More openness wouldn't have quieted all the criticism, but it would have made his hiring at the college seem less sinister.

Keep the doors open, Rep. Sansom."

Comments

[more unraveling needed...]

What would be really interesting is how the other more major college institutions fared during last year's budget - ie. did UF, FSU, UCF get anywhere near that kind of money?

[Cat]

No college in the state of Florida received that much money. None, nada, zip. I very much resent Mr. Sansom using my tax dollars to purchase himself a cushy part-time job that pays $110,000 a year. And it cost us taxpayers $25 million! He should resign. He has no honor.

[POTUS]

I agree with Cat. This is shameful. And if it is allowed to stand it will not only hurt Flordians, but will be another way to make Florida look foolish on the national scene. Remember how bad the press became nationally over the bridge to no where? If the GOP allows this to continue I will never vote Republican again.

[outsider]

How is it that all of the bloggers see Samson as any different then Haridopol-lies. He has a non show job at UF for $75,000 a year and he is not even the leader of the senate. They should bot be investigated and expunged. What about all of the violations of house rules . they are clear about working the game for self interest.