Florida Lt. Gov. Kottkamp faces ethics complaint

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A Pinellas County activist said Tuesday that he is filing an ethics complaint against Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp over the cost to the state of flying and driving Kottkamp between his Fort Myers home and Tallahassee.

David Plyer, a retired engineer and part-time grocery worker from Clearwater, alleged in a letter mailed Monday to the state Ethics Commission that Kottkamp, a Republican, violated state law by misusing his position for personal benefit.

Plyer cited newspaper stories saying Kottkamp billed taxpayers $425,000 for 365 flights on state planes and $60,000 for trips in a car driven by a state trooper to and from Fort Myers during his first two years in office.

“It bothered me the way money is being spent,“ Plyer said in an interview. “They are not forced into the job. If there are some inconveniences that’s unfortunate.“

A spokesman for Gov. Charlie Crist and Kottkamp said he was attempting to reach the lieutenant governor for a comment. Kottkamp was in Tampa and St. Petersburg on state business Tuesday.

The complaint was based on a Feb. 8 article in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel of Fort Lauderdale that disclosed the state plane flights and a St. Petersburg Times story Monday that reported on the car trips.

After the Sun-Sentinel report, Kottkamp reimbursed the state $6,600 for flights his wife and son took on state planes.

Kottkamp told the Times that he’s driving more now because it’s cheaper than flying and he wants “to save as much of the people’s money as we can.“

Plyer also filed a complaint with the Ethics Commission against House Speaker Ray Sansom based on news reports that the Destin Republican took a $110,000 job with Northwest Florida State College after directing about $35 million to the Panhandle school over the past two years.

The commission has not yet acted on the Sansom complaint. The House and a grand jury also are investigating Sansom, who has resigned from the college job. Sansom has already given up the powers of speaker and will formally lose the title when the Legislature convenes in regular session March 3.

Plyer said he’s been a registered Democrat most of his life but briefly switched to Republican so he could vote for U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, in the GOP presidential primary.

Plyer serves on the Pinellas County Juvenile Justice Council, which advises the state Department of Juvenile Justice, has been a volunteer poll worker, regularly writes letters to the editor of the St. Petersburg Times and has protested against the Iraq War with a group called St. Pete Peace.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.