ICYMI: Politico: Contractor seeking FIU bridge contact gave $50,000 to Scott during bid process

Report outlines further involvement of state in project 

In response to a new report from Politico revealing that “Scott’s administration had a long running role in collapsed FIU bridge” and that “during the time MCM, a Miami-based firm, was seeking the bid, the company gave nearly $50,000 in contributions to Scott or his affiliated political committee,” Florida Democratic Party spokesman Sebastian Kitchen released the following statement:

“These revelations are the latest reminder why Floridians don’t trust Rick Scott: at every turn he’s prioritizing his self-serving agenda, looking out for his political donors and misleading the people of Florida to try and advance his own interests. The evidence is overwhelming that Scott tried to deceive Floridians about the central role his administration played in the bridge project, and the fact that Scott’s administration played a “key role” awarding the contract to his political donor is the latest proof that he’s a walking conflict of interest. At every turn, Scott’s looking out for himself at Floridians’ expense.”

Politico, 03/21/2018, Documents: Scott administration had long-running role in collapsed FIU bridge

• “During the time MCM, a Miami-based firm, was seeking the bid, the company gave nearly $50,000 in contributions to Scott or his affiliated political committee, according to state campaign finance records. The decision to hire the firm was made by FIU, but Scott’s transportation agency was involved from the very beginning of that process.”
• “The Scott administration quickly worked to distance itself from the collapse of a Florida International University pedestrian bridge that left six dead, but documents from the state’stransportation department and the university paint a different picture.”
• “From the selection of the politically powerful firm that led the project to the days leading up to the collapse, the Florida Department of Transportation, overseen by Gov. Rick Scott, had direct involvement in a project whose collapse has rocked South Florida and sparked a federal investigation.”
• “Even under the department’s own guidelines, though — under the so-called local agency projects they administer — FDOT has oversight responsibility. ‘The FDOT isnot relieved of oversight and monitoring responsibilities by certifying a Local Agency,’ reads the department’s Local Agency Program Manual.”