A letter-to-the-editor from former Represenative Frank Farkas almost slipped by without me noticing, but it’s worth reading:“It took a while, but state House Speaker Ray Sansom did the right thing for himself, his constituents and all Floridians by resigning his speaker post. His lack of judgment, or poor judgment, now rises to the level of several investigations. The Times Tallahassee bureau is to be commended for their investigative reporting. But before you crucify Sansom any further, it would be nice to let the facts speak for themselves and make final judgment after the investigation concludes.
Speaking of facts, I hope Times Tallahassee bureau chief Steve Bousquet, et al., will give readers, as Paul Harvey states, “the rest of the story.” As a former legislator, and a vice chair of an appropriations committee, I can tell you that it is impossible to “sneak” something in the budget, especially $31 million in projects! It must be approved by 1) the speaker of the House, 2) the Senate budget chairman, 3) the Senate president, 4) the majority of the House and the Senate membership and 5) Gov. Charlie Crist. The House and Senate leadership was fully aware of these projects, as well as the governor’s office. Frank Farkas, St. Petersburg.”