Published: Monday, October 22, 2012 at 11:38 p.m.
Last Modified: Monday, October 22, 2012 at 11:38 p.m.
Gov. Rick Scott has appointed prominent local Republican Eric Robinson to fill an empty seat on the State College of Florida Board of Trustees, just as the board is set to decide the future of embattled President Lars Hafner.
Robinson is the husband of Sarasota County Commissioner Christine Robinson and a former chairman of the Sarasota County Republican Party. He also is a friend of Board of Trustees Chair Carlos Beruff, who has said Hafner is unfit to be president and must go.
Robinson's appointment could prove pivotal in whether Hafner will survive today's board meeting, when trustees are scheduled to discuss his job performance. In August, the board deadlocked 4-4 on a vote of no-confidence on Hafner's job performance.
Robinson, a Venice resident and a managing partner in a local chartered accountancy firm, listed Beruff as a reference in his application.
It was received by the governor's office on April 27, records show.
Robinson said he did not know why the governor's office had taken so long to act and that his ties to Beruff will not influence how he will vote.
"Simply because I know Carlos, you can't really read too much into it," he said. "I'm going to listen to the facts."
Trustee appointments must be confirmed by the Florida Senate at its next session, but appointees begin serving immediately.
That means providing that Robinson's oath of office affidavit is processed by the Florida Division of Elections, he could take his seat at this evening's meeting and his first vote could be whether to fire Hafner.
Robinson said he has some knowledge of SCF from his wife, who served on the college's board.
Both Robinsons are political heavyweights in the GOP party. One of former Gov. Charlie Crist's final decisions in office was the December 2010 appointment of Christine Robinson as a Sarasota County commissioner to replace Shannon Staub, who resigned with two years left on her term.
Eric Robinson is a longtime friend of Crist and stuck by the former governor when he switched from a Republican to a candidate with no party affiliation during his unsuccessful run for U.S. Senate in 2010.
Since his appointment was announced Monday, Robinson said he has talked with Faculty Senate President Danny Fuerstman and tried to contact student government leaders to get input on Hafner's leadership.
He also said he has been following events and looking at various documents, including Hafner's contract.
"I'm not allowed to recuse myself because I'm not up to speed," Robinson said. "That's not an option."
Robinson said he will listen to the discussion about Hafner's performance before he makes up his mind, but he already is concerned about Hafner's 5-year rolling contract, which gives him strong protection if the board wants to remove him.
It also sets his salary to the average of the other 20 state colleges that offer bachelor's degrees. That meant a $40,000 raise in 2010 and another raise of $34,000 the following year, bringing his salary to $284,000.
"Telling the BOT you can't fire me and have an impact on my pay and I have a job for life, that doesn't seem like a situation for success," Robinson said.
Robinson also said he will try and talk with Venice businessman C.J. Fishman, whom he is replacing on the board.
Fishman was removed from the board less than one year after Scott appointed him.
He was one of the few trustees to question the board's actions, including discussion of how much it would cost to fire Hafner.
The special meeting on Hafner's job performance is scheduled to begin at 5:15 p.m. in the CIT Selby Room at SCF's Lakewood Ranch campus, 7131 Professional Parkway.
Source: http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20121022/article/121029885
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