Question of ethics in Browns' EWC ties
Congresswoman was funneling money to Edward Waters while her daughter
lobbied in Washington for the school.
By BETH KORMANIK, The Times-Union
The daughter of U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Fla., has served as a
Washington lobbyist for Edward Waters College during the same time her
mother has channeled millions in federal dollars to the private
Jacksonville school, a review of records shows.
Shantrel Brown is a lobbyist for Alcalde & Fay, a suburban Washington
firm that has an extensive client list in Florida, including the
Jacksonville Airport Authority and the Jacksonville Port Authority.
Edward Waters paid the firm $68,148 in 2003, according to the most
recent tax records. Payments for previous years are not available.
While there are no regulations that ban such relationships, a spokesman
for a congressional watchdog group said the arrangement raises ethical
concerns.
Federal law does prohibit elected officials from doling out special
favors or privileges.
Corrine Brown, a six-term member of Congress, declined to comment, but
her spokesman David Simon said Shantrel Brown never lobbied her mother
on behalf of Edward Waters.
Shantrel Brown confirmed she lobbied for the college but refused to
comment further. She deferred subsequent questions to a spokeswoman for
Alcalde & Fay. The spokeswoman, Danielle McBeth, said the firm had a
"long-standing relationship with the congresswoman" before Shantrel
Brown was hired.
"Members of Congress, their children have to be employed just like
everyone else," she said. She said Brown works on the Edward Waters
account as part of a team that lobbies members of Florida's
congressional delegation.
But McBeth said Brown does not lobby her mother.
"She's not able to enter [her mother's] office in that capacity," McBeth
said.
But according to reports filed with the federal government, Shantrel
Brown took over as the sole congressional lobbyist for Edward Waters
midway through 2003.
She continues to be the only lobbyist for the college, listed on
disclosure forms filed with the House of Representatives.
The congresswoman successfully pushed for $4.7 million for Edward Waters
during the 2003-04 budget year. That included $4 million to train
workers who lost jobs after the closing of area military bases, $500,000
for a new library and $225,000 for environmental research and outreach.
She also has taken credit for another $1 million for the job-training
program and $250,000 for an environmental education program in this
year's budget.
The congresswoman is a longtime supporter of Edward Waters. She taught
courses there and once received an honorary degree. When the college
lost its accreditation in December, Brown appeared at a special chapel
service and vowed to fight to keep the college alive.
Edward Waters has entered court-ordered mediation with its accreditor,
the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and has had its
accreditation restored as it pursues a lawsuit against the association.
Edward Waters interim President Oswald Bronson, who was hired in
February, said he has not studied the college's lobbying contract but
said the college would review it for any conflicts of interest.
"All of our contracts and contacts are being evaluated to determine the
impact of these organization's cooperation with our pursuit of
excellence and ethics," Bronson said. "We also want to make certain that
everything we do is above board."
Ben Wilcox, executive director of Common Cause Florida, a non-partisan,
non-profit government watchdog group, said the lobbying arrangement
doesn't look good.
"There's the perception that this relative was hired because she is a
relative and because presumably she will have access to the
congressperson. To the extent that that's special access and the
potential for special treatment, it does raise some ethical questions,"
Wilcox said.
The Browns have run into ethical difficulties before.
In 1999, Corrine Brown faced a House ethics investigation after she
unsuccessfully worked to keep out of jail an African businessman who had
pleaded guilty to bribing a U.S. customs official.
The man, Foutanga Dit Babani Sissoko, had let Corrine Brown stay in his
Miami condominium and his chief financial officer gave Shantrel Brown a
$50,000 Lexus.
The House ethics committee criticized the congresswoman's "poor
judgment" in 2000 but did not punish her. She said she reimbursed
Sissoko for her visit.
Under pressure, Shantrel Brown sold the car and donated the money to the
African Methodist Episcopal Church for scholarships. Edward Waters is
affiliated with the AME church, and its bishop is the chairman of its
Board of Trustees.
http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/052905/met_18863544.shtml
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| User: "" |
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| Title: Re: OOPS! Uh-Oh! Mmmm....tsk tsk tsk!!.... I'm telling..... :-O |
01 Jun 2005 05:13:14 PM |
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Nice work if you can get it, eh?
LB
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| User: "Su Zanadu" |
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| Title: Re: OOPS! Uh-Oh! Mmmm....tsk tsk tsk!!.... I'm telling..... :-O |
01 Jun 2005 09:20:30 PM |
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leigh8bee@optusnet.com.au wrote:
Nice work if you can get it, eh?
Yeah...and nice car if you can keep it! (she didn't)
SuZanne
LB
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| User: "" |
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| Title: Re: OOPS! Uh-Oh! Mmmm....tsk tsk tsk!!.... I'm telling..... :-O |
02 Jun 2005 04:12:10 AM |
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But maybe claimed it back in tax?
@:}
LB
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| User: "Su Zanadu" |
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| Title: Re: OOPS! Uh-Oh! Mmmm....tsk tsk tsk!!.... I'm telling..... :-O |
02 Jun 2005 11:20:18 AM |
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leigh8bee@optusnet.com.au wrote:
But maybe claimed it back in tax?
I was wondering the same!
Surely she didn't.......or did she?
I'm sure that will come out if she did.
SuZanne
@:}
LB
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| User: "Woodswun" |
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| Title: Re: OOPS! Uh-Oh! Mmmm....tsk tsk tsk!!.... I'm telling..... :-O |
01 Jun 2005 05:43:10 PM |
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Su Zanadu wrote:
Question of ethics in Browns' EWC ties
Congresswoman was funneling money to Edward Waters while her daughter
lobbied in Washington for the school.
By BETH KORMANIK, The Times-Union
The daughter of U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Fla., has served as a
Washington lobbyist for Edward Waters College during the same time her
mother has channeled millions in federal dollars to the private
Jacksonville school, a review of records shows.
Uh-oh. I guess she can forget that new Corrine Brown Student Union, huh?
;-)
Woods
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| User: "Su Zanadu" |
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| Title: Re: OOPS! Uh-Oh! Mmmm....tsk tsk tsk!!.... I'm telling..... :-O |
01 Jun 2005 09:56:30 PM |
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Woods wrote:
Uh-oh. I guess she can forget that new
Corrine Brown Student Union, huh?
Ohhhhh....you just have NO idea....
This kind of stuff has gone on for years!
Boggles the mind.
SuZanne
;-)
Woods
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