State rep defends Chipola job

Rep. Marti Coley, R-Dist. 7, has no plans to give up her $60,000 job at Chipola College, unlike fellow state legislator and Speaker of the House Ray Sansom, who resigned his post at another college amid criticism about his dual role.
The legislator said she sees no conflict in her two jobs and she’s puzzled by the air of criticism surrounding legislators who also work at Florida colleges.
Coley had worked as an adjunct professor at Chipola for two decades before taking the job she now holds there — special assistant of business and community affairs. Her pay started at $45,000 when she took the postion, but she got a 33 percent raise in July of this year, bringing her salary to $60,000.
Her job entails, among other things, fund-raising activities for the Chipola honors program and the school at large.
But Coley says her efforts in that regard do not include actively soliciting the acquisition of state grants as a legislator.
“I have never been directly involved in any state grants (for Chipola). I couldn’t name any state grant they’ve got,” she said.
She also points out that her employment with Chipola began “long before I ever thought of being a legislator.” She doesn’t believe her job is in conflict or constitutes a violation of ethics.
Coley worked part-time at Chipola as an adjunct professor for more than 20 years before taking her new position in late 2006. The new job started about a year-and-a-half after she was appointed by the governor to serve out the term of her late husband, David Coley.
She subsequently was elected to serve a second term and is paid just under $30,000 a year in that role.
Adjunct professors are typically paid $1,200 to $1,600 per course, per semester, and Coley normally taught two or three courses a term before switching to the full-time position at Chipola. She got her associate of arts degree at Chipola back in 1981, and holds a bachelor of science degree in English education from Florida State University. She also studied English education at Murray State University in Kentucky.
Coley said her husband’s death made it necessary for her to start working full-time, and that she was set to take a full-time classroom position at Chipola when the school offered her the new job.
She said it was both an economic factor and a personal reason that led her to take this particular job.
Had she taken the classroom position, she indicated, she couldn’t have finished out her husband’s legislative term.
“I couldn’t let David’s seat just go,” she said.
As for speculation that her double service puts Chipola at special advantage come budget time in the legislature, Coley said that’s just not so.
She readily admits to advocating for the school she works for — she sees it as part of her job as a representative of the district where Chipola is located — but said her work on the school’s behalf is above-board and really begins after funding requests have made their way through a certain process.
As a legislator, she said, it would be her duty to advocate for the college, whether she was employed by Chipola or not.
“I represent nine counties, and any entity in that community is going to get 100 percent effort from me in the legislature. Even with budget cuts, we have a very large budget and that money is going somewhere,” she said.
“Do we want it all to go to South Florida? Certainly, if Chipola is in line for money from a certain source allocated for use in education, I’m going to push as hard as I can for them to be in the budget. Why would people be upset if I’m advocating for any entity in my district?” she said. “One of my key interests is with economic development, and Chipola plays a huge role in Jackson County’s economy.”
She also talked about how she handles the two demanding jobs, and pointed out that legislators were never meant to be full-time.
Coley said she is on campus a lot more these days, and she sometimes puts in time there on weekends. Working the two jobs is a balancing act, she said, but not a conflict of interest.
“If I’m not in session, or off campus at some event related to my job, I’m at Chipola,” Coley said. “Often, especially if I know I will be out of the office some during the week, I’ll go up there on Sunday afternoon or Saturday morning. I was there last weekend, as a matter of fact.”
She said she doesn’t understand why people would criticize her situation.
Former state Rep. Robert Trammell is also on the Chipola payroll, although he is set to retire in June from his $57,787 position as special assistant for development and alumni affairs.
In a written response to inquiries about these employees, Chipola College President Gene Prough expressed his continuing support of Coley and Trammell in their respective roles at the college.