For months and months, findings of ethics violations against public officials in Florida stacked up in Gov. Charlie Crist’s office. Until that week, that is, when The St. Petersburg Times asked why 22 cases were still awaiting final action, some dating to final October. (A penalty imposed by the state Commission on Ethics is technically a recommendation to the governor who can accept, reject or modify it).

Among the old cases that finally moved off dead center that week were fines imposed on a Gulfport City Council member, Michelle King; two former Public Service Commission members, Rudy Bradley and Braulio Baez; Broward County Commissioner Diana Wasserman-Rubin; Bradenton City Commissioner Lisa Marie Phillips; former Boca Raton Police Chief Andrew Scott and Deltona City Commissioner David Santiago. The largest fine involved

Wasserman-Rubin, fined $15,000 for voting on municipal grant applications written by her husband.

Philip Sweeting of Coral Springs emailed Crist’s legal office a complaint about the lack of action. Citing the speculation about Crist as a John McCain running mate, Sweeting said in his newsletter: “McCain would not want a vice president who was reluctant to hold public officials for unethical conduct/abuse of potential in an official capacity.”

Crist spokesman Sterling Ivey said the paperwork logjam was “process-oriented,” not due to opposition to the penalties, and was partly the outcome of a change in the job of general counsen. Ivey said Crist that week ratified 18 of the 22 cases and did not deviate from any of the ethics panel’s findings.

Original post by Steve Bousquet