Friday, September 3, 2010

Ray Sansom- Tim Nickens

Tim Nickens was a very interesting guest who spoke to us about many stories that have broken out throughout the years and were printed in the St. Pete Times.  One of the most intriguing stories for me was a story about Ray Sansom, a former Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives.  Sansom was Speaker for a short time following a scandal that Tim told us about briefly.  This story is very interesting to me because I am very involved in politics and my current boss was also a former Speaker of the Florida House.  This story is one of the reasons people hate corruption in politics.  People in politics have power and companies, or in this case schools, know and take advantage of that.  Sansom basically had a deal with Northwest Florida State College that he would receive a $90,000 salary if millions of dollars would be awarded to the university.  Millions of dollars were taken out of the state's budget and into Northwest Florida State College's pocket for expansions, accelerated funding and an airport hangar.  His salary of $90,000 was also for a job the school created for him.  Long story short, Sansom was charged with grand theft and conspiracy.  This story is alluring to me because the corruption in politics really is a problem.  I see it every day as I am on the inside.  Both Republicans and Democrats seem to be unethical and it is tough to find the people who really care about their state and their country without ulterior motives.  It is the job of journalists to report these problems.  Scandals such as party spending, which is an issue that has arisen a lot lately, are all public records.  Sansom's spending and budgeting is all public record and it should be public record.  The people of the state of Florida have every right to see how their tax money is being spent.  And when there is foul play, it is the job of the journalists to report and inform the people.

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