Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Castor's ethics rules lose; Storms alleges hypocrisy

By BILL VARIAN
Published November 3, 2005

TAMPA - Hillsborough Commissioner Ronda Storms turned the tables on fellow board member Kathy Castor Wednesday as she sought support for tougher ethics standards for county employees.

Storms accused Castor of committing her own ethical breach five years ago, before Castor was a commissioner, in a private meeting at County Center that included both of them.

Ultimately, Castor's proposal died for lack of a second needed to bring it to a vote. Castor, who has declared her candidacy for the U.S. House seat being vacated by Jim Davis, was pushing to ban county commissioners or employees, along with their family members and close associates, from profiting from government contracts.

Other board members, including Mark Sharpe and Brian Blair, said they didn't think there was a need for tougher standards, or that Castor's proposal was overly broad.

Storms, who expressed some support for tougher ethical standards, laid out a more pointed reason for opposing Castor's proposal.

She said Castor was present five years ago in a meeting in Storms' office that included Castor's then-law partner, Ted Taub, and another man.

Storms said Taub requested the meeting, but gave a bogus topic. She said he then attempted to pressure her to change her vote opposing a zoning issue.

"There was nobody who sat in that room and said, "This is wrong,' " Storms said. "That happened. You know it, and I know it."

Storms has leveled the accusation before. In response, Taub wrote a letter to the Tampa Tribune calling the accusation "slanderous and inaccurate."

Castor said she doesn't recall the meeting.

[Last modified November 3, 2005, 01:06:17]