Did Tallahassee Insider Sandy Adams Rubber Stamp a $48 Million "Taj Mahal" for Her Party Leaders?

NEWS FROM THE FLORIDA DEMOCRATIC PARTYFor Immediate Release: Aug. 31, 2010Contact: Eric Jotkoff, (850) 222-3411
Did Tallahassee Insider Sandy Adams Rubber Stamp a $48 Million “Taj Mahal” for Her Party Leaders?
Today, the St. Petersburg Times further investigated the backroom dealings that led to the lavish “Taj Mahal of Tallahassee,” a $48 million courthouse supported by Sandy Adams.  The investigation adds to the picture of waste and corruption in Tallahassee that insiders like Adams either turned a blind eye to or willingly allowed to happen.
According to the Times, “[t]he courthouse construction was an amendment to a lengthy transportation bill – an amendment many legislators say they were unaware of at the time. Now, a key legislator has raised new questions about how that happened… [saying] the decision about money for the courthouse was bumped up to then-Appropriations Chairman Ray Sansom and [House Speaker Marco] Rubio,” (St. Petersburg Times, 08/31/10).
Adams has stood by Sansom through his indictment for falsifying the 2007-2008 state budget to redirect $6 million in education funds for an aircraft hangar for a friend and major Republican Party donor – a budget that Sandy Adams voted to pass.
“The ‘Taj Mahal’ scandal is emblematic of the corruption and waste that has run rampant in Tallahassee and Sandy Adams is part of the problem,” said Campaign for Accountability 2010 spokesperson Eric Jotkoff.  “Did Adams read the bill? Did she meet with those pushing for the project? Voters deserve to know what Sandy Adams knew when she voted for this project and why she did nothing to stop the corruption and waste. Her decision to stand by her corrupt party leaders as scandals pile up proves that her real priorities lie with partisan interests in Tallahassee, not with families in Central Florida.”
BACKGROUND: Adams Voted For Sansom’s Falsified Budget: Sansom was indicted on a felony charge of falsifying the 2007-2008 state budget to redirect $6 million in education funds for an aircraft hangar for a friend and major Republican Party donor. Adams voted to approve that budget in 2007. The charge against Sansom was later changed to charges of grand theft and conspiracy to commit grand theft. In May 2009 a charge of felony perjury was added.  [St. Petersburg Times, April 18, 2009; SB 2802, Vote 478, May 3, 2007; Associated Press State & Local Wire, May 3, 2007]
Adams Supported Sansom When He Stepped Down Amid Scandal That Got Him Indicted For Grand Theft And Perjury: When Ray Sansom stepped down as House Speaker in January 2009 amid controversy over his funneling of millions of dollars to a college that then gave him a job, Adams said Sansom, “will be exonerated.” [Tampabay.com May 28, 2009; Sarasota Herald-Tribune, January 31, 2009; Miami Herald, June 25, 2010]
Adams voted to fund a $48 million lavish, taxpayer funded Tallahassee courthouse that has been labeled the “Taj Mahal.” “Scheduled to be completed in November, it’s a $48 million behemoth in which each judge will get a 60-inch LCD flat screen television in chambers (trimmed in mahogany), a private bathroom (featuring granite countertops) and a kitchen (complete with microwave and refrigerator).” [CS/HB 985, Vote 502 on 5/4/07; St. Petersburg Times, 8/9/10]
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Today, the St. Petersburg Times further investigated the backroom dealings that led to the lavish “Taj Mahal of Tallahassee,” a $48 million courthouse supported by Sandy Adams. The investigation adds to the picture of waste and corruption in Tallahassee that insiders like Adams either turned a blind eye to or willingly allowed to happen.
According to the Times, “[t]he courthouse construction was an amendment to a lengthy transportation bill – an amendment many legislators say they were unaware of at the time. Now, a key legislator has raised new questions about how that happened… [saying] the decision about money for the courthouse was bumped up to then-Appropriations Chairman Ray Sansom and [House Speaker Marco] Rubio,” (St. Petersburg Times, 08/31/10).
Adams has stood by Sansom through his indictment for falsifying the 2007-2008 state budget to redirect $6 million in education funds for an aircraft hangar for a friend and major Republican Party donor – a budget that Sandy Adams voted to pass.
“The ‘Taj Mahal’ scandal is emblematic of the corruption and waste that has run rampant in Tallahassee and Sandy Adams is part of the problem,” said Campaign for Accountability 2010 spokesperson Eric Jotkoff. “Did Adams read the bill? Did she meet with those pushing for the project? Voters deserve to know what Sandy Adams knew when she voted for this project and why she did nothing to stop the corruption and waste. Her decision to stand by her corrupt party leaders as scandals pile up proves that her real priorities lie with partisan interests in Tallahassee, not with families in Central Florida.”
BACKGROUND:
Adams Voted For Sansom’s Falsified Budget: Sansom was indicted on a felony charge of falsifying the 2007-2008 state budget to redirect $6 million in education funds for an aircraft hangar for a friend and major Republican Party donor. Adams voted to approve that budget in 2007. The charge against Sansom was later changed to charges of grand theft and conspiracy to commit grand theft. In May 2009 a charge of felony perjury was added. [St. Petersburg Times, April 18, 2009; SB 2802, Vote 478, May 3, 2007; Associated Press State & Local Wire, May 3, 2007]
Adams Supported Sansom When He Stepped Down Amid Scandal That Got Him Indicted For Grand Theft And Perjury: When Ray Sansom stepped down as House Speaker in January 2009 amid controversy over his funneling of millions of dollars to a college that then gave him a job, Adams said Sansom, “will be exonerated.” [Tampabay.com May 28, 2009; Sarasota Herald-Tribune, January 31, 2009; Miami Herald, June 25, 2010]
Adams voted to fund a $48 million lavish, taxpayer funded Tallahassee courthouse that has been labeled the “Taj Mahal.” “Scheduled to be completed in November, it’s a $48 million behemoth in which each judge will get a 60-inch LCD flat screen television in chambers (trimmed in mahogany), a private bathroom (featuring granite countertops) and a kitchen (complete with microwave and refrigerator).” [CS/HB 985, Vote 502 on 5/4/07; St. Petersburg Times, 8/9/10]
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Did Tallahassee Insider Sandy Adams Rubber Stamp a $48 Million “Taj Mahal” for Her Party Leaders?
Today, the St. Petersburg Times further investigated the backroom dealings that led to the lavish “Taj Mahal of Tallahassee,” a $48 million courthouse supported by Sandy Adams.  The investigation adds to the picture of waste and corruption in Tallahassee that insiders like Adams either turned a blind eye to or willingly allowed to happen.
According to the Times, “[t]he courthouse construction was an amendment to a lengthy transportation bill – an amendment many legislators say they were unaware of at the time. Now, a key legislator has raised new questions about how that happened… [saying] the decision about money for the courthouse was bumped up to then-Appropriations Chairman Ray Sansom and [House Speaker Marco] Rubio,” (St. Petersburg Times, 08/31/10).
Adams has stood by Sansom through his indictment for falsifying the 2007-2008 state budget to redirect $6 million in education funds for an aircraft hangar for a friend and major Republican Party donor – a budget that Sandy Adams voted to pass.
“The ‘Taj Mahal’ scandal is emblematic of the corruption and waste that has run rampant in Tallahassee and Sandy Adams is part of the problem,” said Campaign for Accountability 2010 spokesperson Eric Jotkoff.  “Did Adams read the bill? Did she meet with those pushing for the project? Voters deserve to know what Sandy Adams knew when she voted for this project and why she did nothing to stop the corruption and waste. Her decision to stand by her corrupt party leaders as scandals pile up proves that her real priorities lie with partisan interests in Tallahassee, not with families in Central Florida.”
BACKGROUND: Adams Voted For Sansom’s Falsified Budget: Sansom was indicted on a felony charge of falsifying the 2007-2008 state budget to redirect $6 million in education funds for an aircraft hangar for a friend and major Republican Party donor. Adams voted to approve that budget in 2007. The charge against Sansom was later changed to charges of grand theft and conspiracy to commit grand theft. In May 2009 a charge of felony perjury was added.  [St. Petersburg Times, April 18, 2009; SB 2802, Vote 478, May 3, 2007; Associated Press State & Local Wire, May 3, 2007]
Adams Supported Sansom When He Stepped Down Amid Scandal That Got Him Indicted For Grand Theft And Perjury: When Ray Sansom stepped down as House Speaker in January 2009 amid controversy over his funneling of millions of dollars to a college that then gave him a job, Adams said Sansom, “will be exonerated.” [Tampabay.com May 28, 2009; Sarasota Herald-Tribune, January 31, 2009; Miami Herald, June 25, 2010]
Adams voted to fund a $48 million lavish, taxpayer funded Tallahassee courthouse that has been labeled the “Taj Mahal.” “Scheduled to be completed in November, it’s a $48 million behemoth in which each judge will get a 60-inch LCD flat screen television in chambers (trimmed in mahogany), a private bathroom (featuring granite countertops) and a kitchen (complete with microwave and refrigerator).” [CS/HB 985, Vote 502 on 5/4/07; St. Petersburg Times, 8/9/10]
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