Peter SchorschBecause the story broke Friday night, you may have missed the report from Mary Ellen Klas of the Miami Herald exposing how Gov. Rick Scott’s chief of staff, Adam Hollingsworth, lied about earning a college degree on his resume with a former employer, transportation behemoth CSX.
According to Klas, Hollingsworth, who worked for CSX from 1995-2000 and again from 2002-2004, inflated his resume by claiming he had received a bachelor’s degree in 1990, but denied it contributed to his departure from the company a decade ago.
“For many years, I publicly stated that I was a graduate of the University of Alabama, however, I did not complete my degree until 2009,’’ Hollingsworth said in a written statement given to the Herald/Times. “I am not proud of this and I deeply apologize for this misrepresentation. I have learned from this failure in judgment and know that, over the last several years, my life and character have and will continue to grow from this.”
Hollingsworth, which this blog first identified as a possible contender for the vacant Lieutenant Governor’s post, is now in a precarious position, even though Scott released a statement on Friday saying he had every confidence in his “friend.”
Hollingsworth has been at the center of a series of intriguing blog posts by the Herald‘s Marc Caputo laying the blame for Scott’s continued inability to break through in public polling on Hollingsworth.
In other words, Hollingsworth was already on the hot seat before the story about his academic fraud broke. Where does he stand now?
Hollingsworth’s relationship with Scott does not appear to be in doubt, but that doesn’t mean Hollingsworth doesn’t have some explaining to do.
First of all, Hollingsworth denies that his academic fraud contributed to his departure from CSX a decade ago. If this is true, what did CSX know and when did they know it?
It’s important to get an answer to this question because the follow-up inquiry is: if CSX was aware of Hollingsworth’s fraud, did CSX use it as leverage to pressure Hollingsworth into favorable deals or decisions from the Governor’s office?
Remember, the Florida Department of Transportation paid $173 million for 61 miles of CSX tracks that will be used by SunRail. The railroad says it will invest $500 million into Florida rail infrastructure — partly to reroute traffic in the Orlando area and build a new yard in Winter Haven.
Although Scott rejected high-speed rail, he supported SunRail.
Scott had the power to kill Sunrail, and many advisers advocated that he cut funding to the project, but someone convinced him to move forward on it.
Hollingsworth is the chief of staff for a governor almost entirely dependent on him. Rick Scott is not Jeb Bush or Charlie Crist. He doesn’t have a broad network of advisers. Being chief of staff to Rick Scott is arguably the fourth most important position in state government.
That is why Hollingsworth owes the people of Florida a complete accounting of what he told CSX, and when they first learned of the issue.
Since first investigating this issue with Hollingsworth almost a month ago, I have learned of rumors of a severance package that requires both CSX and Hollingsworth to remain silent regarding the terms of his departure from the company. If there is such a severance, ethics would require that Hollingsworth disclose the details of an agreement to avoid the appearance that CSX has leverage over him.
Hollingsworth must answer if he had/has a severance agreement with CSX or not? If so, what are the terms of the agreement?
Keep in mind, the Department of Transportation has had extensive dealings with CSX, both when Hollingsworth was a member of the Governor’s transition team, and now that he is chief of staff. In light of Friday’s revelations, it’s necessary to ask: what steps has Hollingsworth taken to recuse himself from DOT dealings with CSX?
Lying about your academic pedigree to a previous employer is likely not enough to drive Hollingsworth from the chief of staff job, but only if he and CSX offer a full accounting of who knew what and when.
