Update: Steve Precourt pulls out from final list for Florida Transportation Commission executive director

Steve_Precourt

Former state Rep. Stephen Precourt is no longer on the list of more than 100 Floridians seeking the job of executive director of the Florida Transportation Commission.

The Orlando Republican has not yet given a reason why his name is no longer under consideration.

The FTC is a nine-member panel to oversee the Florida Department of Transportation as well as expressway authorities statewide, providing policy recommendations to both the Legislature and governor.

Gov. Rick Scott will nominate a new executive director, who will be confirmed by the Senate.

Precourt left the Legislature in Jan. 2014 to apply to the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority as executive director, following the resignation of Max Crumit.

Precourt was originally offered the position for a five-year period through several year-long contracts. He resigned from the legislature under the assumption he was the top candidate.

Circumstances changed when Ninth Circuit State Attorney Jeff Ashton – who was investigating the Authority for violations of Florida’s Sunshine Laws during an internal effort to oust Crumit — requested the OOCEA modify its offer.

Precourt’s offer was later amended to a series of month-long contracts at $15,000 each. He then withdrew his acceptance, strongly criticizing the Authority’s actions.

The Orlando Sentinel reports that Precourt had listed a “minimum acceptable salary” of $120,000. The executive director salary is posted as paying between $110,000 and $120,000 a year.

Of the other finalists, one notable name is Matthew Ubben, even though he withdrew his name from consideration last week. Ubben, an experienced non-profit advocate, serves as president of Floridians for Better Transportation, a group dedicated to safe and efficient transportation options throughout the state.

One FTC board member is already familiar with Precourt; Orlando attorney Ken Wright is a former general counsel to the OOCEA. He currently works with the Central Florida Expressway Authority, the new agency springing up from the reorganized OOCEA.

Marco Pena, a former OOCEA board member, pled guilty to Sunshine Law violations and paid a $500 fine. Fellow board member Scott Batterson, who had pled no contest to Sunshine Law violations, was sentenced to 7-1/2 years in prison on unrelated bribery charges.

The board was disbanded, and a new board began meeting in July 2014.

The full list of names is here:

  • Acevado, Irwin
  • Allen, Johnathan
  • Anghel, Dan
  • Avant, Ivory
  • Baker, Ronald
  • Barberesi, Raymond
  • Barcikowski, Chris
  • Bauer, Douglas
  • Bebawy, Mervat
  • Beck, Katherine
  • Billingsley, James
  • Blankenzee, Conrad
  • Bobo, Rosezetta
  • Brannon, Terrell
  • Brawner, Paul
  • Brown, Cora
  • Buckman, Robert
  • Calhoun, Melinee
  • Calhoun, Gerald
  • Campano, Enrique
  • Casey, Kyle
  • Castro, Diego
  • Collins Adkins, Pamela
  • Collins-Smith, Tameka
  • Cuevas, Jose
  • Dingman, Heather
  • Doering-Musslimani, Andrea
  • Ducharme, Jeremy
  • Duncan, David
  • Farris, Sharon
  • Floyd, Lucretia
  • Francis, Christopher
  • Garriga, Henry
  • Gordon, Derek
  • Greene, John
  • Grigsby, Thomas
  • Hale, Michael
  • Hale, Wayne
  • Hicks, Rebecca
  • Hinson, Marquisa
  • Jackson, Jeffrey
  • Jacobs, Evellyn
  • Jara, Michael
  • Jernigan, Bobby
  • Johnson, Jessica
  • Jones, Thomas
  • Jorve, Jonas
  • Julien, Edner
  • Kelly, Dennis
  • Kim, Sungman
  • Klipfel, Jr., Robert
  • Langley, William
  • Latham, Douglas
  • Lawson, Jeffrey
  • Leino, Jason
  • Leslie, Pamela
  • Lipman, Eric
  • Livingston, Ephraim
  • Lobello, Samantha
  • Lolly, Roger
  • Lundberg, Andy
  • Malone, Michael
  • Manley, Jared
  • Manspeaker, Robert
  • Markakis, Nicholas
  • Marshall, Jacquelyn
  • Massaro, Sebastian
  • Mccaffrey, Terrance
  • McDaniel, Jeanette
  • McElheney, Mary Alice
  • McHale, Edmund
  • Miles, Keith
  • Murphy, Christy
  • Murphy, Deborah
  • Nelson, William
  • Newsom, Larry
  • Nichols, Angela
  • Ntui, Emmanuel
  • Nwagbo, Anthonia
  • O’Rourke, Gerard
  • Pagano, Paul
  • Peterson, Erik
  • Porter, Jeffrey
  • Ramos-Coleman, Alison
  • Randolph, Stephen
  • Rangaswamy, Sridhar
  • Raza, hassan
  • Risk, Charles
  • Ritter, Kelbourne
  • Robinson, Tanya
  • Roth, Caroline
  • Rubinas, Wayne
  • Sanchez, Angel
  • Scott, Jerry
  • Shiflett, Rebecca
  • Simms, Roy
  • Sineath, Laura
  • Smith, Nevin
  • Sonner, Craig
  • Spearman, Tharius
  • Sterling Ill, Luther
  • Stripling, Jason
  • Sunshine, Douglas
  • Swift, John
  • Thompson, Gabrielle
  • Tolbert, Kendall
  • Tolliver, Don
  • Travis, Trina
  • Ubben, Matthew
  • Velez, Mauricio
  • Walls, Dennis
  • Williams, Felicia
  • Williams, Byron
  • Witham, Patrick

Phil Ammann

Phil Ammann is a Tampa Bay-area journalist, editor and writer. With more than three decades of writing, editing, reporting and management experience, Phil produced content for both print and online, in addition to founding several specialty websites, including HRNewsDaily.com. His broad range includes covering news, local government, entertainment reviews, marketing and an advice column. Phil has served as editor and production manager for Extensive Enterprises Media since 2013 and lives in Tampa with his wife, visual artist Margaret Juul. He can be reached on Twitter @PhilAmmann or at [email protected].



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