Sansom's key friend JAY ODOM avoids spotlight

[plannergirl]

Florida GOP won't use aircraft of Sansom contributor JAY ODOM

The saga continues...

Here's the link in case you are unable to review the article below:
Florida GOP won't use aircraft of Sansom contributor - St. Petersburg Times



Jay Odom, a friend of Ray Sansom?s, quit the board of Citizens, the state-run insurer.

TALLAHASSEE ? The state GOP has distanced itself from a Panhandle developer involved in the Ray Sansom controversy, while the developer himself has stepped down from a state insurance board.
Jay Odom, a longtime friend and political contributor to Sansom, the ousted House speaker, had provided aircraft services to the Republican Party of Florida, but the party has decided to no longer use his companies.
"I'm reading every day there are issues with Jay Odom. I just didn't think the party should be involved in anything like that," Florida GOP chairman Jim Greer said Tuesday.
He added the move was part of broader cost savings but said appearances were a factor.
Meanwhile, Odom, 52, has given up his seat on the board of directors of Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the state-run insurer. In a resignation letter dated Feb. 19, he cited "growing time constraints" of his family. He was first appointed in 2002.
The decision was not based on Sansom's recent troubles, a spokesman for Odom's Crystal Beach Development said Tuesday.
Sansom, R-Destin, is facing a grand jury inquiry over his relationship with Northwest Florida State College, which hired him to an unadvertised $110,000 job in November.
The St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau reported that Sansom had funneled to the school tens of millions in extra or accelerated construction money, including $6 million for an airport building that mirrored one that Odom had sought taxpayer funding for.
Sansom has resigned from the college job and has been ousted as speaker of the House. He is dealing with the grand jury inquiry and two ethics investigations.
The grand jury met again Tuesday and got a briefing on possible Sunshine Law violations concerning a meeting of the college trustees, president Bob Richburg and Sansom in March at a private club in Tallahassee. The next scheduled grand jury meeting is March 26.
"We don't know where it will go, but it's going to keep going," State Attorney Willie Meggs said.
Alex Leary can be reached at aleary@sptimes.com.


[Last modified: Feb 25, 2009 12:02 AM]

 

[SHELLY]

...there's never just one roach.

.

 

[Bob Wells]

Now their view of right and wrong kicks in, To Little To Late. Oh and it would make no difference what party, before those of the R believe I am being biased. I kinda of have problems with the Governor and Lt. Governor with the issue of travel. Lt Governor has already reimbursed some money for the travel expenses. Seems he has been commuting to Tallahassess from Ft Meyers. Where is the Tax cut folks complaining about a 1/2 million in travel expenses. Just so you know he is driiving it now with the use of a State Trooper driving him.

 

[John R]

It seems that sansom and odom have a bit of personal responsibility towards each other.

 

[passin thru]

I love the smell of fertilizer in the morning.

 

[TooFarTampa]

Still more, a little extraneous but still interesting ...

A developer closely linked to former House Speaker Ray Sansom is pushing for a new toll road to slice through a nature preserve that taxpayers spent $16.5 million to save from development.

"They couldn't have picked a worse place to put this road," said Matt Aresco, the biologist who manages the preserve.

The eight-member board in charge of building the toll road was created by the Legislature in 2005 through a bill sponsored by Sansom, R-Destin. Sansom's brief tenure as House speaker this year has led to a grand jury investigation.

The toll road board's vice chairman is Jay Odom, the developer whose ties to Sansom are among the subjects now being investigated by the grand jury.

Sansom's friend pushes for toll road through nature preserve - St. Petersburg Times

Can anyone find a map for this proposed toll road? Sounds like a good chunk of it will be in SoWal.

 

[SHELLY]

I have but one thing to say to Sansom and Odom: "Hey, you two, just get a room!!"
.

 

[Matt J]

Now their view of right and wrong kicks in, To Little To Late. Oh and it would make no difference what party, before those of the R believe I am being biased. I kinda of have problems with the Governor and Lt. Governor with the issue of travel. Lt Governor has already reimbursed some money for the travel expenses. Seems he has been commuting to Tallahassess from Ft Meyers. Where is the Tax cut folks complaining about a 1/2 million in travel expenses. Just so you know he is driiving it now with the use of a State Trooper driving him.

If there's no bias, can you point out the guys from the "other party" in your statement?

 

[Bob Wells]

Dashele and some of the other folks that President Obama nominated whose names slip my mind. I support the President but he truly did have some bad picks

 

[weeniedawg]

Other political allies

Odom has been spreading his distorted vision of how Florida should look throughout the Panhandle for too long. He's like a character in a Carl Hiaasen novel and one can only hope that the denouement comes quickly and ends in a similar flourish.

Walton county is a curious place. The little cliques are really kind of funny in a perverted way. Look at some more of Jay Odom's "political allies". He and Sansom seems to be associated with the almighty Don Gaetz and Odom contributed thousands to the reelection campaign of Walton superintendent of schools Carlene Anderson. Teachers in Walton schools receive unsolicited e-mails from Gaetz with his political ideas and I'm sure that Odom and Sansom are getting something from the school district. But slimballs often slither their way out of jams and Odom and Sansom will probably to beat their raps.