State ethics officials to investigate Jefferson County's charter-backed superintendent
The Ethics Commission has found my complaint against Eydie Tricquet sufficient for investigation. It's one of the first investigations in the new anti-ethics era in Florida. Could it set precedent?
On Monday, I received an official correspondence from the Florida Commission on Ethics informing me that its staff will investigate my complaint against elected Jefferson County Superintendent Eydie Tricquet.
It is important to note that investigation is not guilt. However, most ethics complaints are dismissed before reaching formal investigation status. So this is a significant step. As I understand it, the investigation must begin within 30 days and conclude within a year.
The last time I filed an ethics complaint — against Polk School Board member Lori Cunningham (in 2023) — it led to a formal investigation, a probable cause hearing based on an extensive investigative report, and a finding of probable cause that Cunningham violated Florida’s ethics laws in her school uniform business dealings.
I do not write frivolous complaints. And my complaint against Tricquet is quite serious. I’ll get to it in a second.
But first, it’s also important to note that the Commission on Ethics will not and cannot comment on the existence of my complaint or of its status. None of the correspondence or documentation is considered public record yet.
As the complainant, I am not bound by the same rules the Ethics Commission and its staff is. But out of respect for the Commission and staff, I am not going to publish any record they’ve sent me until they can legally release it.
If reporters want to independently confirm what I’m saying here, I’d recommend asking Tricquet herself. She will have received similar notification. See what she says.
The complaint: Tricquet’s Amplio, Lexonik, Steve Ruder conflicts
I have already published my complaint at the time I filed it, as you can see, with documentation, in the article below:
It focuses on Tricquet’s business and personal relationship to a guy named Steve Ruder. Two companies affiliated with Ruder and then Ruder himself have collected a total of $193,588.67 from Jefferson County school contracts since November 17, 2022. One of the contracts for $20,000 was paid via wire transfer without notifying the School Board in a way that, in my observation, clearly violates the plain language of Jefferson School Board policies and state ethics laws.
The Ethics Commission investigators will now get to agree or disagree with my interpretation. The facts really aren’t in dispute.
Moreover, Tricquet has a promotional relationship with the two Ruder-affiliated companies. She provided testimonials to both, which were hosted on a social media account or website belonging to each company. It is unclear if she was paid for the testimonials.
Here’s how I opened the formal complaint:
This complaint focuses on Jefferson County Superintendent of Schools Eydie Tricquet. It alleges, with documentation, the following ethical violations: misuse of public position, abuse of public position, and conflicting employment or contractual relationship.
It begins with Jefferson County School Board policy 6320, which aligns with Florida Law. The policy states the following. Note the part in bold:
“6320 - PURCHASING AND CONTRACTING FOR COMMODITIES AND CONTRACTUAL SERVICES
Any School Board employee who has purchasing authority shall consider first the interests of the Board in all purchases and seek to obtain the maximum value for each dollar expended; not solicit or accept any gifts or gratuities from present or potential suppliers which might influence or appear to influence purchasing decisions; and refrain from any private business or professional activity that might present a conflict of interest in making purchasing decisions on behalf of the Board.”
The fact record of this complaint shows that Tricquet repeatedly engaged in “private business or professional activity” that presented a conflict of interest in making purchasing decisions on behalf of the board. She has been in obvious violation of School District policy.
An ethics case study to watch
The Ethics Commission is moving forward with the Tricquet investigation at essentially the same moment that Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Legislature have sought to cripple the capacity of citizens to hold their public officials ethically accountable.
So what happens in this case will be fascinating to watch. How will it interact with the new law?
The documents and spending and policies I cited in my complaint are not “hearsay.” And I signed my name, under oath and pain of perjury etc., — so it’s not anonymous. Hearsay and anonymity appear to be the twin hammers our very corrupt state government wants to use to protect itself from its citizens.
The reality of the new restrictions — and the fact that my complaint emerged from my personal approach to citizen journalism — makes it clear that news organizations should allow/encourage reporters and journalists to file their own ethics complaints based on their own reporting, when the content justifies it.
I wrote about changing the anachronistic journalistic norm/taboo against formal complaints in an earlier article, linked below.
And fellow independent Florida reporter Jason Garcia published an excellent article on this issue today. See below:
When Jason writes …
That is expected to stop the state ethics commission from acting on any future complaints based solely on investigations published by news organizations — like the ones that so enraged the DeSantis administration, which were filed by the chairperson of the Florida Democratic Party and based primarily on reporting by NBC News.
… doesn’t that cry out for reporters to act officially — like I have acted officially — on their own reporting? Take the “politics” out of it, reporters: file directly.
It’s still on you, morally, Manny Diaz and Academica
In considering the particulars of this complaint, it’s very important to remember the larger context. Political and business forces aligned with Education Commissioner Manny Diaz put Eydie Tricquet in office with political and financial support in her 2020 race.
I see no evidence that these people have anything to do with the Tricquet/Ruder shenanigans in my complaint; but they’re only possible because Big Charter wanted Tricquet as its superintendent in 2020 before the charter takeover of Jefferson collapsed in grift, failure, and the infamous DoE/Jefferson bid-rigging scandal.
Tricquet is Manny Diaz’s legacy in Jefferson, as I noted here:
The successful rebirth and rebuilding of Jefferson schools won’t be complete until the last vestige of the disastrously corrupt charter era is swept away.
Thanks for this. Alachua County is facing a similar charter takeover in the city of Newberry (the same city that wanted to split off into its own special enclave as Springs County). Now, a special interest group is trying to convert all three public schools in Newberry to charter schools. The disintegration of public education in Florida is accelerating and it will be a disaster for Florida children and their families.