Tallahassee Democrat by Jeffrey Schweers
July 20, 2017
After offering a “no comment” Wednesday afternoon about the Leon County Sheriff turning over its investigation into his email software purchase to the State Attorney, Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum issued a statement early Thursday morning.
“I am pleased that the Sheriff’s department has completed its work. I am looking forward to a speedy conclusion from the state attorney. It is my sincere hope that this does not become politicized any further.”
Gillum has had a standing policy to not comment on the ongoing investigation, but after discussing it with staff at the end of Wednesday’s 10-hour marathon of back to back meetings, Gillum decided it was OK to comment because the sheriff’s part of the investigation was over.
The Mayor’s Office sent out the statement via text at 6:18 a.m.
Evan Power, chairman of the Leon County Republican Party, called the mayor’s statement an insult to taxpayers.
“He attempts to belittle a serious criminal matter by saying he hopes the issue is not politicized any further,” Power said. “The only person who politicized anything was the mayor when he took taxpayer dollars and used them to fundraise (sic) for the Democratic Party and help the get out the vote efforts of federal candidates.”
The email issue broke on the eve of Gillum’s announcement that he planned to run for governor and has shadowed his campaign ever since.
Sheriff’s investigators were looking at whether Gillum broke the law when he sent out political emails using software from a Democratic Party vendor bought with city money. The investigation began after a citizen sent a letter to the State Attorney asking the Leon County grand jury to investigate Gillum. [READ MORE]