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Misuse of state aircraft alleged

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By CATHERINE DOLINSKI

cdolinski@tampatrib.com

Published: July 2, 2009

TALLAHASSEE - A Leon County Democrat has filed a state ethics complaint accusing Attorney General Bill McCollum of traveling for personal reasons on publicly owned aircraft, echoing a complaint a Leon County Republican made against Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink the day before.

McCollum diverted state planes to ferry him to or from his home in Sanford "and other uses unrelated to the official business of the state," Kenneth Quinnell, a member of the Leon County Democratic Executive Committee, argued in a complaint filed late Tuesday with the state Commission on Ethics.

His 22-page complaint questions McCollum's use of state aircraft on 15 occasions dating to Feb. 3, 2007.

McCollum "misused his public position in violation of the law and wasted taxpayer money," wrote Quinnell, director of the Florida Progressive Coalition.

McCollum spokeswoman Sandi Copes flatly denied the charge.

"The attorney general has used the state plane effectively and efficiently - and only for official state business," she said.

In an interview, Quinnell said he based his complaint largely on a St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald investigation of state aircraft use for private purposes by McCollum and Sink - reports that had prompted Jose Lorenzo's complaint against Sink on Monday.

McCollum, a Republican, and Sink, a Democrat, are vying to replace Gov. Charlie Crist, who is vacating his seat to run for the U.S. Senate in 2010.

Lorenzo, a state Department of Education attorney, is a Republican who was appointed to a judicial nominating commission by then-Gov. Jeb Bush and reappointed by Crist.

Lorenzo said he levied his complaint against Sink not for partisan reasons, but rather over concerns about possible abuses of state resources at a time when cutbacks and layoffs loom large.

"I work for the state," he said. "I'm a taxpayer like anyone else."

Lorenzo outlined five instances in which he thinks Sink misused state aircraft, primarily to transport family members.

Kyra Jennings, spokeswoman for Sink, said the CFO has always "proactively" reimbursed the state for her family's travel. Sink worked to make state plane logs more accessible to the public, Jennings said, and has ordered a review of all use of state aircraft by her office.

The ethics commission will investigate if it finds that the complaints against McCollum and Sink are legally sufficient. State law keeps ethics complaint proceedings confidential until a complaint is dismissed or the commission finds probable cause that an ethics law has been violated. Penalties for such violations can range from fines to removal from office.

Lorenzo, who said he has never filed an ethics complaint before, did not question Quinnell's motivation for filing one against McCollum.

"If he's right, he's right; if he's wrong, he's wrong - just like me," he said. "In the end, the benefactors are going to be the citizens of Florida."

Quinnell, an adjunct instructor at Tallahassee Community College, filed complaints last year against Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer and Peter Boulware, a GOP candidate for the state House.

The ethics commission dismissed both complaints.

Quinnell said politics played a role in his decision to complain about McCollum.

"Party was a factor," he said, "but not the motivating factor."

Reporter Catherine Dolinski can be reached at (850) 222-8382.

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