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Commission may rename moral courage award

Tribune file photo

Commissioners renamed the Moral Courage Award for Ralph Hughes in September.

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By MIKE SALINERO

msalinero@tampatrib.com

Published: July 14, 2009

Updated: 07/15/2009 09:56 am

Hillsborough County commissioners will discuss dropping conservative activist Ralph Hughes' name from the county's Moral Courage Award on Wednesday.

Commissioner Rose Ferlita put the controversial issue on the agenda for discussion weeks after the federal government said Hughes died owing $69 million in unpaid taxes.

Ferlita told the Tribune on Tuesday that Hughes' son Shea has sent a letter to the commissioners asking that his father's name be removed from the award.

According to Ferlita, Hughes' son said he did not want his father's name to cause controversy or to elicit derogatory or hurtful statements about a man that many of Hughes' critics didn't know.

Despite the family's request that Hughes' name be removed from the award, Ferlita said she still wants to address the issue with fellow commissioners.

Ferlita said she thought renaming the award was not consistent with former Commissioner Jan Platt's intentions when she helped create the honor. Ferlita said putting someone's name on such an award, whether it was Hughes or someone else, "puts a different slant" on the award. This belief was borne out, Ferlita said, when the IRS filed suit over Hughes' unpaid taxes.

Commissioners renamed the Moral Courage Award for Hughes in September, despite opposition from a number of speakers, including former award winners. The award is given annually to citizens who challenge government.

Hughes died at age 77 on June 27, 2008. Ferlita and Mark Sharpe were the only commissioners who voted against renaming the award for Hughes. All the commissioners but Ferlita accepted financial contributions from Hughes, who became a millionaire in the concrete casting business.

Last month, it was revealed that the IRS had filed a claim against the Hughes' family trust seeking $69 million in unpaid income and business taxes for the years 2003-07.

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