Rick Scott's Administration Gave SunPass Contract To Company Tied To Key Scott Donor

A series of hard-hitting, bombshell reporting from WTSP found that Rick Scott’s administration mismanaged the Florida Turnpike Enterprise’s SunPass system while giving contracts to a company connected to a key Rick Scott donor.

Over the past few weeks, WTSP has uncovered numerous problems with the Florida Department of Transportation’s contractor for the SunPass system, Conduent, resulting in a backlog of over 100 million transactions. Today, it was revealed that a key Rick Scott donor — Brian Ballard — lobbied Scott’s administration during the same time period Conduent was granted their contract. The same day that Scott’s administration admitted Conduent’s system at the core of SunPass’ problems, Ballard was hosting a high-dollar fundraiser for Scott in D.C.

WTSP has also recently reported on how Rick Scott pushed Florida’s shift to private prisons — a move that resulted in massive cuts to crucial rehabilitation programs while directly benefiting his campaign donors. This all follows a series of recent reports from CBS4 in Miami which found that, in the wake of Hurricane Irma, Rick Scott’s administration wasted tens of millions of dollars by hiring campaign donors for a debris removal contract.

Florida Democratic Party Spokesperson Nate Evans:

“Once again, Floridians are reminded that Rick Scott is a bad governor because he prioritizes himself and his donors — always — at the expense of Floridians. In yet another instance, his administration has given state business to a company — directly affiliated to a major campaign donor — which is simply not cut out to do the job. Now, Floridians across the state who rely on the SunPass system are paying the consequences for the Scott administration’s own self-serving actions.”