In a House of Representatives that makes a priority of members behaving ethically, how is it Rep. Cary Pigman gets to come back from a DUI arrest where his dishonor and dishonesty were on full dash-cam display -- and carry on as if nothing happened?
You'd better believe Frank Artiles is wondering the same thing. Artiles was forced to resign his Senate seat last week after a flood of outrage over racial slurs and vulgar comments he made to and about fellow senators. No sympathy in the upper chamber, nor should there have been.
But Pigman in the House? The Avon Park Republican returned to Tallahassee after a boozey drive home, interrupted by a stay March 24 in the St. Lucie County slammer. And what was the worst that befell him? He resigned his chairmanship of the House's Health Quality Subcommittee.
That'll show him.
In fact, instead of a reprimand, Speaker Richard Corcoran gave him a flowery vote of confidence in a prepared statement. Said Corcoran, “Having spent a career fighting for and defending this country, Dr. Pigman knows that it is honorable to take responsibility for one's actions. It is the honorable thing to do. Dr. Pigman has done both by informing me that he wishes to step down as chairman of the Health Quality Subcommittee."
Wait a minute here. What's this "honorable thing to do" business?
Did Pigman not dishonor the body of the House by hiding behind a legislative license plate? Not every elected legislator opts for a special plate announcing his membership in the House or Senate, but Pigman does. Look at the two dash-cam videos recorded by the Florida Highway Patrolman. Look at how many minutes it took not one, but two FHP officers to watch the ER doctor weave across both lanes of Florida's Turnpike before they pulled him over.
Why so cautious? What were they waiting for? Let me tell you what I think -- though, admittedly, I don't have a copy of the incident report.
I believe they were waiting to find out who this legislator was and what in Heaven's name they should do with him. No law enforcement agency wants to get crossways with a legislator. To prove my point, state and St. Lucie County authorities weren't exactly forthcoming with the information when reporters asked for it. And 1) Pigman’s mugshot was wiped out of the county jail’s website the day after, 2) he spent less than six hours in the slammer and 3) he bonded out at a bargain $750.
Announcing himself on the back of his car as a member of the Florida House of Representatives, then breaking at least two laws -- DUI and the open container law (officers found an open bottle of wine on the passenger seat) -- is not respecting the House, let alone the law. Neither is failing to issue a public apology on the House floor to fellow members. Or failing to assure Floridians he's going to get help so he doesn't one day kill somebody with his motor vehicle -- let alone while he's practicing medicine in a hospital.
And last but not least, playing fast and loose with the truth: Pigman lied to a law enforcement officer. He said he hadn't been drinking. Nearly twice-the-legal-limit drunk, nearly falling flat on the pavement -- there's still no excuse for an elected representative sworn to uphold the public trust to lie to an officer of the law.
And let's not forget, March 24 wasn't the first time Pigman's ethics have been called into question.
Last September -- less than eight months ago -- the Florida Commission on Ethics found probable cause to believe Pigman "misused his position by linking his efforts to obtain legislative funding for the Okeechobee School District to retaliate" against a principal of one of the district schools. It's a bizarre story which virtually every newspaper in the state carried, including how Pigman slipped out of the commission's noose. Read the Politico version here.
This is a busy session. I don't expect anymore to happen now. But if Pigman runs for re-election, I plan to be right here, writing reminders for voters in HD 55 of this low moment in the life of an otherwise honorable House of Representatives.
(Editor's Note: See the correction on St. Lucie County Sheriff's Department information here.)
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at 228-282-2423. Twitter: @NancyLBSmith
Comments
Eagle's DUI charge was