Ex-Speaker Ray Sansom resigned from the Florida House of Representatives on Sunday night, a dramatic decision on the eve of his ethics trial over his dealings with a Panhandle college:
“Let me state that this decision should not be received as an admission of any wrongdoing,” Sansom wrote in a letter. “On the contrary, I have steadfastly maintained that I am innocent of any wrongdoing and I will never relent from that position.”
Florida Democratic Party Chair Karen Thurman, who first called on Sansom to resign on Dec. 3, 2008, has demanded again that Gov. Charlie Crist appoint a special prosecutor to investigate corruption at the Republican Party Of Florida. She released a statement Sunday night:
“Over the course of the past 15 months, since I first called on Speaker Ray Sansom to resign, the investigations into his alleged corruption scheme have uncovered a true Republican culture of corruption in Tallahassee.
“Republican politicians living large off the RPOF AmEx slush fund, secret backroom dealings, and wasteful spending that only benefits Republican leaders in Tallahassee have all come to light thanks to the investigations into Sansom.
“But while Sansom’s resignation is a step in the right direction, given the news accounts of much larger corruption schemes infecting the Republican Party, Sansom’s actions today do very little to clean up the Republican corruption festering in Tallahassee.
“Just like in the Sansom case, Florida’s chief law enforcement officer, A.G. Bill McCollum refuses to hold Republican politicians accountable by ordering an investigation into the alleged corruption at the Republican Party.
“Since McCollum’s conflicts of interest serve to question McCollum’s motivation not to investigate, last week I called for Governor Crist to appoint a Special Prosecutor because only an independent investigation can legitimately determine if crimes were committed by Republican politicians and party officials. Yet, Governor Crist refuses to even acknowledge these calls, let alone do his job by taking action.
“And for most Floridians, the most disappointing lesson from the Sansom case isn’t about what was uncovered, but what we were reminded of — that for the Republican politicians in Tallahassee, Sansom’s abuse of power was as they say ‘just business as usual’ in our state’s capital.
“Unfortunately, we only have to look to Sansom’s mentor, Speaker Marco Rubio, to prove that point with Turnpike contracts, jobs at FIU, sweetheart mortgages, and Rubio’s refusal to release his RPOF AmEx card statements.
“Because Floridians deserve more from our elected officials, Florida Democrats will continue holding Republicans accountable and fighting to clean up Republican corruption in Tallahassee.”
