12/01/2008
The go-fer speaker
Maybe it's because this is such a tight budget year, but the story about new House Speaker Ray Sansom's job as Northwest Florida State College vice president for development and planning (Translation: Guy in charge of getting us money) seems to have legs. Even though his go-getting on behalf of the college is pretty pricey, it's still in the same ballpark as projects other speakers have saddled the state with. (Cough. Johnnie Byrd Center. Cough.) Still, these are different times.
+ St. Pete Times: Last spring, the agency overseeing Florida's colleges made a list of budget requests in what was one of the leanest years in modern history. . . . Yet when lawmakers signed off on the budget in May, the school had snagged $25.5-million — the single largest project of any college.
Editorials:
+ Lakeland Ledger: Legislative leaders from the Florida Panhandle have a long history of bringing home the bacon. Among the most infamous examples were the football stadium that a Senate president from Pensacola tried to build at a university that didn't have a football team and the original 'Bridge to Nowhere' that a House speaker got built with state funds near his hometown. The new speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, Ray Sansom, R-Destin, seems to be carrying on the tradition, but with a twist — a six-figure job for himself.
+ Palm Beach Post: Yes, education might have to be cut - including higher-education cuts that would hurt even more without the proposed 15 percent tuition increases. Yes, health care for Medicaid patients could be further rationed even as the number of poor families qualifying for assistance grows. And state attorneys might not have enough prosecutors. But Ray Sansom has got his.
+ Panama City News Herald: To avoid conflicts of interest, the speaker should resign his position at the college and find another job that doesn't have strings leading to Tallahassee.
+ Pensacola News Journal: If state Rep. Ray Sansom, R-Destin, wants to keep what's left of the dignity attached to his position as speaker of the Florida House of Representatives he should resign his new job at Northwest Florida State College. He can't keep both.
+ St Pete Times: Sansom owes Floridians an explanation for the conflict between his words and actions. After all, he's playing with their money.
+ Tallahassee Democrat: House Speaker Ray Sansom is quite clearly tone deaf and not able to connect the dots that ordinary people have become quite adept at connecting during the current economic crunch.
----------------------
+ Orlando Sentinel: How does Mr. Sansom manage to keep a straight face when he tells others to tighten their belts?
+ St. Pete Times: Last spring, the agency overseeing Florida's colleges made a list of budget requests in what was one of the leanest years in modern history. . . . Yet when lawmakers signed off on the budget in May, the school had snagged $25.5-million — the single largest project of any college.
Editorials:
+ Lakeland Ledger: Legislative leaders from the Florida Panhandle have a long history of bringing home the bacon. Among the most infamous examples were the football stadium that a Senate president from Pensacola tried to build at a university that didn't have a football team and the original 'Bridge to Nowhere' that a House speaker got built with state funds near his hometown. The new speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, Ray Sansom, R-Destin, seems to be carrying on the tradition, but with a twist — a six-figure job for himself.
+ Palm Beach Post: Yes, education might have to be cut - including higher-education cuts that would hurt even more without the proposed 15 percent tuition increases. Yes, health care for Medicaid patients could be further rationed even as the number of poor families qualifying for assistance grows. And state attorneys might not have enough prosecutors. But Ray Sansom has got his.
+ Panama City News Herald: To avoid conflicts of interest, the speaker should resign his position at the college and find another job that doesn't have strings leading to Tallahassee.
+ Pensacola News Journal: If state Rep. Ray Sansom, R-Destin, wants to keep what's left of the dignity attached to his position as speaker of the Florida House of Representatives he should resign his new job at Northwest Florida State College. He can't keep both.
+ St Pete Times: Sansom owes Floridians an explanation for the conflict between his words and actions. After all, he's playing with their money.
+ Tallahassee Democrat: House Speaker Ray Sansom is quite clearly tone deaf and not able to connect the dots that ordinary people have become quite adept at connecting during the current economic crunch.
----------------------
+ Orlando Sentinel: How does Mr. Sansom manage to keep a straight face when he tells others to tighten their belts?
Labels: Legislature, Ray Sansom
