Amy Mercado, Democratic candidate for Florida House District 35, today urged her opponent to join her in calling for the resignation of former House Speaker Ray Sansom.
Mercado stated her strong support for enforcement of Florida’s ethics laws and the rules of the Florida House of Representatives that are intended to guard against corruption. Mercado said the relationship between campaign contributors and members of the Legislature often are too cozy, and in the case of former House Speaker Ray Sansom, appear to have become inappropriate and costly to taxpayers.
Mercado, who is campaigning to combat a “culture of corruption” in state government, said urgent actions are needed to mop up the ethics mess left by the alleged inappropriate associations and decisions of Representative Sansom.
“If elected to the Florida House, I will strive to improve the public’s confidence in their lawmakers, and take action to remove the stain of corruption in state government,” said Mercado.
This week, a special committee of the Florida House is scheduled to hold organizational talks on how it will handle a citizen’s complaint against Sansom, who resigned the speaker’s office in January. Mercado said Cannon, who currently holds the House District 35 seat in Central Florida that Mercado seeks to represent, should join her in urging Sansom to resign.
“It’s apparent to me, and I sincerely hope it is just as apparent to Representative Cannon as a member of the current House leadership team, that it’s long past time for Representative Sansom to step down to improve the public’s image of the Legislature,” said Mercado. “Important work in the Florida House of Representatives, such as the bipartisan goals of improving the economy and our schools, should not be distracted by the ethics mess of one man, a former Republican legislative leader.”
Sansom has been indicted on felony charges of perjury and official misconduct involving a $6 million budget item he allegedly arranged when he headed a House budget committee. The matter also reportedly involves an airport hangar complex that appears to have mainly benefitted a developer, Jay Odom, who has been indicted by a Leon County grand jury.
An attorney hired by the Legislature, Steve Kahn, investigated a citizens complaint, finding probable cause to proceed with allegations that the public “faith and confidence in the integrity of the Florida House” has been jeopardized by Sansom. The investigation looked into Sansom’s acceptance of a $110,000 job at Northwest Florida State College that appears tied to his
involvement in state funding for the hangar project and other legislative dealings. Sansom resigned the college job only after his dealing became a matter of statewide controversy.
Amy Mercado is the daughter of a New York City police officer and a New York City Transit Police detective. She is of Puerto Rican descent. She is a graduate of American Intercontinental University and has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. Amy and her family have resided in House District 35 since 1997, two years after moving to Florida. She has built a strong reputation as a dependable and diplomatic political activist in community organizations throughout Florida.
Amy is the current president of the Orange County Democratic Hispanic Caucus, interim secretary of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement’s Central Florida Chapter, and secretary of the Florida Council of the League of United Latin American Citizens. She also is a member of the Orange County Chapter of the Florida Voters League, the Florida Democratic Party’s Central/State Executive Committee and its Affirmative Action Committee.
Amy and Wilfredo “Fred” Mercado were married in 1997. Their children attend Orange County public schools. The Mercados are members of Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Winter Park.
Contact:
Amy Mercado
Tel: 407-484-2814
