New e-mails shed light on Richburg-Sansom talks

Privacy was a concern when state Rep. Ray Sansom began discussions with Northwest Florida State College President Bob Richburg about working for the college.

That concern is well documented in e-mail records the college recently sent to the Florida Commission on Ethics.

Those e-mails were not included in a public records request the Northwest Florida Daily News made months ago to the college.

College spokeswoman Sylvia Bryan wrote last week that the new e-mails were discovered in recent weeks after Sansom and Richburg were indicted April 23 by a grand jury and Richburg took leave from the school.

The indictments followed months of media scrutiny, and later an official investigation, that began after Sansom was hired for the job of vice president for development and planning at the college - on the same day he was sworn in as speaker of the Florida House in November 2008.

Sansom resigned from the $110,000-a-year part-time job, in early January. On Jan. 30, he also stepped down as speaker.

In a recent report, special investigator Stephen Kahn wrote that probable cause exists for the House to consider sanctions against Sansom for his relations with the Northwest Florida State, including obtaining funding for the college and then taking a job at the school.

According to Kahn's report, Richburg first broached the possibility of a job for Sansom in August or September 2008.

But the new e-mails show Richburg and Sansom began discussing a possible job for the then-speaker designate as early as May 2008.

The discussion closely followed Sansom's legislative efforts to secure millions of dollars in construction and program funding for the college.

On May 25, 2008, Richburg sent an e-mail to Sansom from his college account. He offered Sansom "some quick thoughts on areas for a performance contract."

A couple hours later Sansom responded with the question: "Do you have a private e-mail?" Sansom included his own private e-mail address.

Richburg replied, "Good idea," from his own private account.

Sansom's next e-mail to Richburg - sent June 10, 2008, from the private account - is a "draft proposal" for the position of "vice president of external affairs."

It included a detailed three-page job description that closely mirrors the final employment description of the job Sansom eventually was hired to do six months later.

The next day - June 11, 2008 - Gov. Charlie Crist signed the 2008-09 state budget that included $25 million for construction at Northwest Florida State College, including more than $8 million to build and operate a Leadership Institute at the school.

According to Kahn's report, sometime in August or September 2008 Richburg told the trustee, "I'm gonna blow your socks off - I am going to hire Ray Sansom."

That conversation was the first of seven private discussions Richburg was to have with individual members of the eight-member board of trustees between then and Sansom's hiring date of Nov. 18, 2008. In each meeting, Richburg informed the individual trustee of his plans to hire Sansom, according to Kahn's report.

On Sept. 27, 2008, Richburg e-mailed Sansom - his soon-to-be employee. The e-mail included a "concept paper" that championed creating a new designation for schools such as Northwest Florida State College.

The "Regional State College" system Richburg suggested would have its own funding formula and governance criteria.

"It is an idea of how to break us out of the pack along with others and to fund us on an adapted community college funding formula," Richburg wrote in the e-mail.

Told last week about that e-mail, state Sen. Don Gaetz called it an "end run." He said such requests are not uncommon.

"But certainly it would have required powerful political muscle to get it done," he said.

According to Kahn's report, numerous college staff learned that Sansom was going to be hired in the weeks before it was announced.

Among them was Julie Cotton, who had been hired as a grant administrator for the Leadership Institute. Cotton learned about 10 days before Sansom's hiring that she would report to him.

During a Nov. 18, 2008, college board meeting, Richburg announced that he had hired Sansom to a part-time, $110,000-a-year job. The board unanimously backed Sansom's hiring. Sansom officially became speaker of the House earlier that day.

The next day, Richburg e-mailed Sansom to tell him "all went so well" at the board meeting. Only a single reporter from a weekly paper attended, Richburg wrote.

But Sansom's hiring immediately attracted media scrutiny.

On Dec. 3, 2008, Richburg e-mailed Sansom with the exhortation: "FYI - keep the faith."

Richburg included another e-mail from David Goetsch, a college vice president.

"I am in a meeting of the FWB Chamber and City of FWB. Much discussion of Ray and the media coverage," Goetsch wrote. "A lot of support for Ray and the College. The consensus is that ‘this will blow over - ride it out.' "

Richburg's tone seemed more strained in a Dec. 18 e-mail to Sansom, at what appears to be another private e-mail address. He wondered why state Rep. John Tobia had requested names and addresses for him and the board of trustees.

"We have not responded," Richburg assured the then-House speaker.

On Dec. 21, 2008, Richburg e-mailed the Daily News to blast publisher Tom Conner and editor Pat Rice for an editorial critical of a meeting Richburg, Sansom and the school's board of trustees held in Tallahassee on March 24, 2008.

That meeting - which Kahn's report also notes - was advertised in the Daily News. No minutes were taken and both Sansom and Richburg had described it as "private" in previously released e-mails.

"Frankly gentlemen, I think that increasingly your paper is so short-staffed that you do not cover public meetings or public issues adequately," Richburg said in his e-mail to Conner and Rice. "But then you Monday-morning quarterback with misinformation, second-hand information and too large a dose of cynicism."

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum issued an opinion in January calling the Tallahassee meeting "very questionable."

It "could easily be interpreted" to have violated the state's Sunshine Law, McCollum said.

On Dec. 31, 2008, Sansom, coming under increased scrutiny, forwarded Richburg an opinion he'd received from a legislative staff attorney. He'd asked the attorney whether there are any state prohibitions against his holding the college position while serving as House speaker.

The counsel responded "Short Answer - No." She then continued for eight pages to spell out the risks, restrictions and possible conflicts of interest that come with holding two public-sector jobs.

The same day, Richburg forwarded that opinion to Joe Lorenz, the college's attorney. Richburg also strategized with Lorenz about how to counter a Daily News story focused on the lack of minutes from the March 24, 2008, meeting.

"It appears that the paper has dropped the notice issue and are running with the minutes issue," Richburg wrote. "Somehow, I would like to get in the record that days after the legislative briefing I granted a full interview on the state college concept ... and just a few weeks later Ray and I both met with the Editorial Board of the paper to present the concept."

On Jan. 5 of this year, Sansom announced he was resigning from the college job. That morning, Richburg e-mailed Sansom: "You are in my thoughts and prayers."

Richburg continued his battle with the media.

On Jan. 15, he and Sansom exchanged e-mails regarding an e-mail Richburg had sent to St. Petersburg Times reporter Alex Leary calling him "so wrong with your premises."

On Jan. 30, Richburg e-mailed Sansom, apparently regarding a Gaetz quote in the Tampa Tribune that he thought expressed "anger."

Also on Jan. 30, the day Sansom stepped down as House speaker, Richburg e-mailed Sansom: "Thought you might like our attorney's (Lorenz) take on your actions this morning and how it may impact the case."

By that time, the Florida Commission on Ethics and a Leon County grand jury were investigating Sansom and Richburg.

An indictment was handed down on April 23 charging Sansom with official misconduct and Richburg with official misconduct and perjury. A perjury charge was added against Sansom later.

Richburg was fired from the college April 28.