Ray Sansom

Early Political Career

Prior to his election to the Florida House of Representatives, Sansom served on the Okaloosa County Board of Commissioners from 1992 to 2000. He received the Okaloosa County Management Association's Presidents Award in 1999.

1n 2008, Sansom was one of the driving forces pushing to create an "oversight board for community colleges that emphasizes undergraduate education". This proposal received resistance from some community college presidents who were not for the change and also from private colleges who offered 4-year degrees on these community college campuses.

Also in 2008, Sansom was appointed Vice President for Development and Planning at NWF State College - his former alma mater from his hometown. The college's Board of Trustees appointed Sansom to this position. This was the same week Sansom was sworn in as the Florida Speaker of the House.

In response to his appointment, Sansom said, "The work that I will be doing at Northwest Florida State College is something I've been preparing for throughout my career. I'm honored and excited to be associated with an institution that's at the forefront of educating the workforce that will sustain the economy of northwest Florida well into the future. Beyond that, it means a lot to me to return to an institution that my wife and I both attended as students and that enabled me to get a college education. Throughout my time in the Legislature, I have tried to help the college grow and prosper, precisely because its success is so important to the future of our region."

One of his duties, as outlined by College President Bob Richburg, would be to assist with "...formalizing agreements with local governments for training emergency personnel and for the use of the college's Community Services Complex during times of natural disaster. The 120,000 square--foot facility, currently under construction on the college's Niceville campus, will house the Okaloosa County 911 Emergency Operations Center, college athletic and instructional programs, and serve as the county's primary hurricane shelter. Sansom's new role will include leading the conferencing and training efforts of the college, including statewide training opportunities related to the joint use facility."

However, it was this appointment and specifically, this area of his responsibility, that would subsequently raise questions and eventually led to Sansom's arrest.

Scandal and College resignation

In December 2008, a resident of Clearwater, Florida, filed a complaint against Sansom asserting that Northwest Florida State College rewarded Sansom with a $110,000 a year job in return for funneling millions of dollars to his constituency's hometown college—even amid statewide budget cuts. The Herald/Times also documented how over the past two years, as Sansom was in charge of the Florida House budget, he secured about $35 million in extra or accelerated funding for Northwest Florida State. According to several Florida news journals, some of this money also paid for the creation of Sansom's vice president post at the college.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, there was also a $6 million appropriation for an "education facility" for the same college. However, according to several Florida newspapers, the money actually went to build an airport hangar on land owned by a friend and campaign contributor. In the same time period, other allegations developed surrounding Sansom's involvement with the college—including e-mails from the college president to Sansom discussing how to hold public meetings in private. Local celebrity and past United States Congressman Joe Scarborough wrote an editorial published in the Pensacola News Journal discrediting Sansom and his ethics.

On January 6, 2009, Sansom resigned from his post as vice president of development at Northwest Florida State College amidst statewide criticism.

On January 10, 2009, Rep. Sansom wrote an open letter, published in his district's newspaper, the Northwest Florida Daily News, to clarify his position.

On January 30, under growing pressure from his fellow Republicans, Sansom announced that under a little-known House rule, he would temporarily "recuse" himself from his authority as Speaker. Under that rule, Speaker Pro Tem Larry Cretul, Sansom's roommate while the House is in session, was due to serve as acting Speaker in Sansom's absence.

This was not enough for his fellow Republicans, who met on the night of February 2 to remove Sansom from the speakership. However, while that meeting was underway, Sansom resigned as leader of the House Republican caucus, the party leadership post which enabled him to attain the Speaker's position since Republicans have a large majority in the chamber. Cretul was unanimously elected his successor, and was formally elected Speaker on March 3, the first day of the regular legislative session.

Criminal charges

In April 2009, a grand jury indicted Samson, Bob Richburg, former president of Northwest Florida State College, and Jay Odom, businessman and a major GOP contributor. They were charged with official misconduct, a third-degree felony which could result in a five year prison sentence. A circuit judge dismissed most of the charges in October and an appellate court reaffirmed the judge's ruling on the last day of 2009.

On January 6, 2010, the Leon County State Attorney Willie Meggs charged the trio with grand theft and conspiracy. When asked why those charges weren't filed initially, Meggs stated that he thought the original charges and penalty were appropriate. "You can kill a fly with a fly swat, or you can kill one with a sledgehammer." When the judge gutted the first case, Meggs refused to drop it. "I cannot in my mind as a prosecutor put a pretty face on this. It's just not right."

As of August 2010, Meggs himself went on trial for what opposing counsel says was "unethical behavior". Attorneys for Sansom and his co-defendants in the criminal trial - former college President Bob Richburg and developer Jay Odom - want Meggs removed from the case for "prosecutorial misconduct". Testimony from both sides concluded on Friday August 20 but lawyers have up to one month to submit closing arguments, after which time Judge Terry Lewis will decide if Meggs will remain on the case.

March 28, 2011, Prosecutors dropped all charges against former House Speaker Ray Sansom and a political contributor Friday, ending a four-year saga that toppled one of the state’s most powerful figures and prompted renewed calls for increased transparency at the Capitol.

The abrupt decision to abandon the case against Sansom, a Destin Republican who rose to the top House post after the 2008 elections, followed a statement by Circuit Judge Terry Lewis that he didn’t believe prosecutors had made any progress in their attempt to prove a conspiracy by Sansom and political contributor Jay Odom to steal taxpayer money.