House Speaker John Thrasher's top aide moonlighted as an attorney
for a
cement company that won unexpected approval from the Florida Cabinet
to
build a cement plant near the Ichetucknee River.
Steven MacNamara, who earns twice the rate of pay as the governor,
said he
saw no conflict in acting as Thrasher's chief of staff while also working
as an attorney for the Suwannee American Cement Co.
MacNamara said he's not a state employee. He works for Thrasher
as an
independent contractor. At the time he worked for the cement company,
he
said, he was between contracts with Thrasher and so considered himself
``a
free agent.''
State records, however, show MacNamara continued to be paid and
work for
Thrasher during at least part of the time he worked for the cement
company.
He also acknowledged in an interview that he continued executing
duties as
Thrasher's chief of staff the rest of the time he worked for Suwannee,
adding that in that period he worked without state pay.
MacNamara, who also continues to hold a tenured law faculty position
with
Florida State University, defended the arrangement.
``I have not done anything illegal, unethical or improper'' he
said. ``It
may be unusual.''
He declined to disclose how much the cement company paid him.
He said he
was hired to file legal briefs and acknowledges taking part in Suwannee's
permit negotiations with the state Department of Environmental Protection.
The negotiations resulted in the state's unexpectedly reversing
ar
decision denying Suwannee's request to build the cement plant.
Thrasher declined repeated requests for comment. His spokeswoman,
Katie
Baur, said the speaker has ``full faith and confidence'' in MacNamara.
A lobbyist for the Florida chapter of the Sierra Club and other
environmental interests, Susie Caplowe, questioned MacNamara's
moonlighting.
She said the arrangement could be considered ``an abuse of power.''
She
added, ``I wonder if he got the job because he was Thrasher's heavy
hitter?''
Two groups, the Sierra Club and Save Our Suwannee, challenged
the state
decision, claiming the plant will contaminate the Ichetucknee and two
other
rivers in the area with mercury.
An administrative law judge last week said the company should
limit its
mercury emissions, but he ruled the DEP still could issue a permit
for the
plant to be built.
An attorney for the groups, Patrice Boyes, said she was outraged
Friday to
learn Thrasher's top aide simultaneously worked for the cement company.
``That is unbelievable,'' she said.
``I think MacNamara, given his position in the House, would have
had
access to anyone, ... and they would have paid attention given his
position,'' she said.
THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR of the Florida Commission on Ethics, Bonnie
Williams, said MacNamara's dual roles could be a conflict of interests.
``Potentially, that's an issue,'' she said. ``But it would require
closer
examination.''
The commission will only review the matter if a formal written
complaint
is filed.
The DEP's about-face on the cement-plant permit in November came
as a
shock to many. Just five months earlier, Gov. Jeb Bush and DEP Secretary
David Struhs had announced the denial of the company's initial permit
as
they canoed the pristine river near the site of the proposed plant.
Boyes and others complained at the time of the reversal that the
negotiations were closed to opponents of the plant.
``The whole thing was hatched in secrecy,'' Boyes said.
The negotiations led to a sweeping settlement in which the DEP
granted
Suwannee's parent company, Anderson Columbia, eight additional permits
around the state it had previously denied, in addition to the cement
plant.
The department also waived its right to pursue other pending enforcement
actions and wiped out more than $100,000 in penalties it already had
assessed against Anderson Columbia.
In exchange for the cement- plant permit, Anderson Columbia agreed
to sell
the state a limerock mine that was threatening to pollute the Ichetucknee
River.
W. Robert Vezina, the Suwannee lawyer who hired MacNamara, said
the
speaker's chief of staff ``came on board almost contemporaneously with
the
permit denial'' in June, 1999. ``Steve was on board right away.''
Vezina declined to say how he came to hire MacNamara, explaining
that he
did not want to disclose the strategy of ``how we approached the case
or
how the team was assembled.''
MacNamara's role, he said, was to do ``what we all did, to advance
Suwannee American's interests and get the case resolved. ... The bulk
of
what he did was in the initial months.''
DEP secretary Struhs and agency attorney Jack Chisolm, did not
return
telephone calls regarding MacNamara's involvement in the Suwannee
negotiations.
Reached at home Friday, Chisolm declined to discuss the negotiations.
BOD: MACNAMARA's POSITION as a contractor is not unique in state
government, although officials say they cannot remember another chief
of
staff hired under such an arrangement.
A handful of such contractors work in high-echelon jobs in the
Legislature; most are attorneys.
Thrasher has two attorneys on contract as policy advisers in addition
to
MacNamara - Jason Unger, an attorney whose wife works for Bush, and
Mark
Kaplan, a self-employed Tallahassee lawyer. Stephen Kahn, who works
full
time as the Senate's general counsel, also is on contract.
MacNamara began working for Thrasher in January 1999 as a policy
adviser
with a five-month contract ending May 31. He said he officially became
Thrasher's chief of staff in early June and his contract was extended
through the month. Records show he continued to submit invoices totaling
$6,375 for work through July. He was paid $127,500 over the six-month
contract.
MacNamara said he was hired to do legal work for Suwannee about
the third
week of June and remained on retainer with the company through
mid-December. Bush and the Cabinet voted to accept the cement plant
deal in
January.
Even though he had no official contract with Thrasher, MacNamara
said, he
continued throughout that entire period to act as the speaker's chief
of
staff, signing off on House expenditures and other paperwork.
MacNamara signed a new five- month contract on July 8, 1999, while
working
for Suwannee, agreeing to return in January as Thrasher's chief of
staff
for $127,500.
For the 11 months covered by the two contracts, MacNamara earned
$255,000.
That's $137,760 more than the governor's annual salary.
``I don't see a problem with this,'' MacNamara said of his acting
as
Thrasher's ``authorized agent'' during the time he was without a state
contract and working for the cement plant.
An authorized agent need not even be a real person, MacNamara
added: ``It
could be a Muppet.''
Jay Starling, the director of Legislative Services, said questions
were
``asked internally'' about MacNamara's acting as Thrasher's proxy without
a
contract. ``No one had the answer,'' he said.
Staff writer Jan Hollingsworth contributed to this report. Michelle
Pellemans can be reached at mpellemans@tampatrib.comand (850) 222-8382.