Published on: Friday, October 24, 2008
By GREG MARTIN Staff Writer
Elections commission to hear Kreegel case
Opponents question post-election timing of hearing
The Florida Elections Commission has scheduled a hearing to determine whether state Rep. Paige Kreegel, R-Punta Gorda, should be charged with an election code violation for using his public office for political purposes.
The hearing will be held at 3 p.m. Nov. 12 in Tallahassee.Kreegel will be given five minutes to make an oral argument in his defense, according to an Oct. 20 notice sent to Kreegel and his accuser, Robert J. Anderson, of Lehigh Acres.At the hearing, the commission is merely deciding whether Kreegel should be charged with a violation. A second hearing would be held to determine guilt. Anderson, in January, lodged his complaint with the elections commission, the Florida Ethics Commission and the Florida House.
A House panel after a hearing in July dismissed its case against Kreegel. The complaint alleged Kreegel misused his office in September 2007, when he directed his former aide, Barry Millman, to provide information about the educational credentials of Kreegel's then-political opponent, Keith Richter, to his employer, Hodges University.Richter, a candidate for District 72 who lost in the Republican primary, had been hired by the university as an adjunct professor in the fall of 2007. He had cited a master's degree from Canterbury University, which came under question.
Citing the fact the commission doesn't release its investigative records until after the hearing, Kreegel said he would reserve commenting about details in the case until then.Documents in the House's investigation showed that Millman had called a Hodges University official to ask if the school was aware of Richter's questionable degree.Later that evening, Kreegel said he received a call from an acquaintance, Prof. Elsa Rogers, chair of the liberal arts program at Hodges. Rogers, who lives next door to Kreegel's mother in Fort Myers, wanted to know if Kreegel had any information about Richter's credentials.
Kreegel told her he'd have Millman contact her the following Monday to provide her with whatever public information he had gathered.
Kreegel testified he considered his response to Roger's request "constituent services."Anderson, who is currently a candidate for a Lehigh Acres fire department board, had been a campaign supporter of Richter in 2007.
"The investigation is over with and they've set a hearing, so they've got him on something," Anderson said. "The only thing is, this hearing is Nov. 12 -- after the election, and if they find him guilty, I'm going to reapply to have the House re-investigate him.
"Kreegel's opponent in the Nov. 4 general election, Democrat Judy "J.J." Juliano, a Democrat from Punta Gorda, also questioned the timing of the hearing."I think it's too bad the voters won't be aware what the conclusion is until after the election," she said. "I think the voters deserve to know before they cast their votes."Kreegel needs to take responsibility for his own actions and not just pass blame off to others," she added.
Pd. Pol. Adv. House Dist 72 Coalition for Better Leadership PAC
Elections commission to hear Kreegel case
