Trip by senator sparks inquiry
Senate President Tom Lee orders an investigation of a senator who solicited lobbyists to pay for a trip.
By ALISA ULFERTS and STEVE BOUSQUET
Published March 12, 2005
TALLAHASSEE - Senate President Tom Lee on Friday ordered a "thorough but expeditious" investigation of a senator who solicited $2,500 from lobbyists to pay for a trip to South Africa.
Lee took the unusual step of ordering the Senate's top lawyer to investigate the conduct of Mandy Dawson, a Fort Lauderdale Democrat.
Dawson's bold solicitation of travel expenses from lobbyists has focused fresh attention on the often cozy relationships between lawmakers and the people who lobby them.
Lee's call for an investigation could be an ominous sign for Dawson. The Senate president, a Brandon Republican, repeatedly has criticized the role of lobbyists and special interest money in shaping policy.
In an opening-day address to the Senate on Tuesday, he called for closer scrutiny of how lobbyists spend money to influence decisions.
Dawson is a member of the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee that is certain to vote on any Lee-backed measures to expose the practices of lobbyists.
In a brief letter to Senate counsel Steve Kahn, Lee asked for "a concise statement of all the applicable statutes and rules," and to "name any person or organization who appeared to you to give you less than full, frank and prompt responses and cooperation."
Lee normally would wait for a report from the state Commission on Ethics, a spokeswoman said, but he decided to be "proactive."
"Please conduct a thorough but expeditious investigation of the facts and circumstances of (the trip), with detailed attention to how it was organized, its purpose and how it was financed or attempted to be financed," Lee wrote to Kahn.
In Dawson's letter, written in January on official Senate letterhead, she asked lobbyists to send the money not to her, but to the Florida Conference of Black State Legislators.
"I need to raise funds to help defray the cost. As a longtime supporter of mine, I am asking if you would consider helping to sponsor my trip," Dawson wrote. "Due to ethics regulations, the check should be made out to the FL Caucus of Black State Legislators."
State ethics laws prohibit public officials from soliciting gifts from lobbyists, with penalties ranging from reprimand to removal from office.
The ethics laws require that a "public office not be used for private gain."
At least seven other members of the Florida Conference of Black State Legislators also attended the nine-day trade mission. It was organized by Enterprise Florida, the state's public-private partnership that promotes economic development in Florida.
Several legislators interviewed on Friday said they paid for the trip with leftover campaign funds or personal money or sought partial reimbursement from the state government.
Two legislators who went to South Africa, Rep. Frank Peterman, D-St. Petersburg, and Sen. Tony Hill, D-Jacksonville, expressed dismay at Dawson's decision to ask lobbyists to pay for her travel.
"I didn't do any soliciting," Hill said. "I was really shocked when I read that in the paper."
Sen. Al Lawson, D-Tallahassee, did not go to South Africa, but said he plans to ask the black caucus for an explanation of Dawson's fundraising at the group's meeting on Monday.
"It's inappropriate. If you want to go, you need to go on your own, unless the state of Florida is sending you," Lawson said.
Rep. Ed Jennings, a Gainesville Democrat who chairs the conference, said that while the Dawson letter may have violated state law, the group did not act improperly.
Informally known as the black caucus, the conference is a nonprofit 501c3 organization that often solicits money from lobbyists, corporations and others to support scholarships, programs and other functions, Jennings said.
While Jennings said he will likely remind caucus members to be careful how they raise money, he said there is little else he can do.
Jennings said the Dawson matter has shifted attention from what he said was a successful trade mission, 15 years in the making, to increase trade between ports in South Africa and Florida.
He called the mission "incredible."
Jennings said his $2,500 travel bill was divided by the House and the caucus treasury.
Peterman said he paid his travel expenses from a special office account which held $10,000 in leftover campaign contributions.
"This allows us to do things we otherwise couldn't do," said Peterman, who said he paid for his wife's travel.
State law requires elected officials to file reports with the Division of Elections, open to the public, detailing how they spent leftover campaign money.
Peterman, a pastor and an employee of a juvenile services program, has one of the lowest net worths of anyone in the state Legislature.
He said it is difficult for legislators of modest means to maintain a standard of living the public expects from elected officials.
"We're putting out a lot of our own resources and getting reimbursed," said Peterman, a father of four children. "I don't think the common man can do that."
Peterman said the purpose of the trip was to develop stronger business ties between seaports in South Africa and Florida.
"It was amazing," said Peterman, who met with leaders of the South African government. "We sat down and talked with them, and we talked about issues, such as education."
Hill said he wrote a $3,000 personal check to the legislative black caucus and was reimbursed that amount by the group.
Asked why he financed the trip that way, Hill said, "It was a caucus event. They said to write one check, to the caucus."
Rep. Philip Brutus, D-North Miami, filed paperwork to be reimbursed for $1,250 and paid for the rest out of his special office account, as Peterman did.
Times staff writer Lucy Morgan contributed to this report.