The New York Times reported last week that agents for both the F.B.I. and the I.R.S. have recently contacted former employees alleging financial improprieties by Vern Buchanan, the Republican congressman representing Sarasota. The Times reported that a federal grand jury in Tampa is also hearing evidence about charges that Buchanan, who also owns a number of car dealerships, reimbursed employees for contributing to his congressional campaigns.
What, if anything, comes from those investigations will be closely followed by the local and national media. But it's certainly a nice gift for Buchanan's Democratic challenger, New College political science professor Keith Fitzgerald.
As a way to contrast his reputation with Buchanan's, Fitzgerald announced on Tuesday a "Pledge to the Citizens of Florida and the United States to restore trust and transparency in government and reduce the deficit," accessible on a newly created website called My Pledge to You.
This article appears in Mar 1-7, 2012.