State Senator Cecil Staton: “I’m Thy State Senator. Bow Down To ME!”
by PV
Rumors have it that Senator Cecil Staton is growing a bigger pair of cojones (pronounced ka-hon-ees) these days. So much so that he has taken it upon himself to invoke his title “State Senator” when he solicits new business for advertising on his radio station business.
One such incident happened several weeks ago when he called on the CEO of a large hospital in middle-Georgia, which just happened to be located in his senate district. He told the hospital decision-maker “Say, you should advertise on my radio station…oh, and I’m your state senator.”
PV Utters A “_ _ _?” (Hangman, anyone?): Wow. Essentially, Staton is playing the “Buy radio advertising from me OR else I, as YOUR State Senator, will hurt your operation, hold-up legislation, and generally make your life and this hospital live through Hell…” playing card.
That does take some cojones. AND, a certain degree of real stupidity.
Because, there is a set of written rules that the Georgia State Senate operates on, and one of them is that a member cannot invoke their title as a way of using leverage in a private business deal. Under Part Four-Conduct & Ethics, there is a slew of topics, not the least of which is 1-4.1: “(a) Senators and Senate staff shall refrain from using government positions to attain personal financial gain.”
PV Provides Some Background: But we kinda already have that experience with Senator Staton with his direct knowledge and participation in the Beth Merkelson saga near the end of the 2011 Legislative Session.
Now, another flourishing rumor is that Staton is up to his eyeballs in current debt owed to Mercer University…because Mercer apparently had a similar deal with one of Staton’s radio stations that Georgia Southern University had regarding the splitting of advertising revenue sold for the broadcast of college athletic events, and Staton owes Mercer big time.
This story from WMAZ in Macon from June 2011 describes the GSU issue whereby GSU is claiming Staton’s company owes them $52,000 in overdue radio advertising revenues.
PV suspects that Mercer University will either not return news organizations’ phone calls OR flat-out deny that any such advertising revenue is owed to them. Why? Because Senator Staton acts as one of their biggest benefactors in getting state revenue tax dollars out of the state budget and into Mercer University’s operating budget (what exactly does “private university” even mean anymore???).
PV Ponders: Golly, we wonder what Cecil Staton’s #1 Fan, Erick Erickson, thinks about a state senator using his position to attempt to extort new business while giving the middle-finger to old business that he owes multiple thousands of dollars to? Especially when it concerns Erick’s own alma mater?
Well, knowing Erickson’s incredible capacity for political myopia, PV’s pretty sure Erickson will be telling his Mercer Admin-pals that they shouldn’t worry about getting that money.
Because just as soon as Staton is successful in convincing NEW business to come-in (vis-a-vis , thinly-veiled political threats to hospitals and the like in his district), we’re certain Staton will use those new dollars to pay all of his old business debt…’cause, he’s such a good state senator isn’t he, Beth? Beth? Bethhhhhh…? Yo! Where’d that girl get to now…?
