Pons apologizes, Hanna accepts
Superintendent Jackie Pons apologized to campaign rival Rocky Hanna for an attack ad he ran over the weekend but pulled off the air after a public backlash.
Pons offered the apology Wednesday during a meeting of the Tallahassee Democrat Editorial Board with the four candidates for superintendent. Also running are former School Board members Patricia Ann Sunday and Forrest Van Camp.
“I do apologize to Rocky, his family, the entire community for the ad,” Pons said. “As soon as I saw it ... the judgment should have been not to run it. It’s been a tough three years, you know, for our school system. We’ve been through a lot. And I think I made a judgment mistake when we did that. I’m sorry.”
The ad in question, which began running over the weekend, focused on a paternity lawsuit filed and later dropped by the mother of Hanna’s 14-year-old daughter. Pons pulled the ad Monday after a vocal public backlash.
Hanna, former Leon High principal, said Pons had been planning the attack for over a year and bragging to people he was going to “drop a bomb” on him so hard it would force him out of the race.
“As far as accepting an apology, I question the motivation, like I’m sure many in the community do,” Hanna said. “But I’m a forgiving person. I’m going to accept the apology, but I will never forget the pain he’s caused to me and my little girl.”
The Editorial Board asked whether Hanna owed Pons an apology for putting together a notebook he gave to the FBI. It contained numerous public documents, including School Board agenda items, and allegations Pons had divided up major construction projects into smaller phases to avoid a competitive bidding process and award political donors.
“No, I don’t owe him any apologies whatsoever,” Hanna said. “I was given documents prior to 2014 by members of the construction department that were scared that there were illegal activities going on, that contracts were not being bid properly as required by state statute.”
He went on to say that he “absolutely did the right thing” in turning the notebook over to the FBI and noted that last year, the School Board passed 11 new policies overhauling how construction contracts are awarded.
The superintendent denied contracts were awarded based on political donations and insisted the construction projects had been competitively bid. He also said he offered to take the notebook to the sheriff or the state attorney but that Hanna declined. Pons said Hanna wanted to take it to the FBI because it could lead to an investigation that could last more than two years.
Pons, first elected in 2006, asked voters to look “at all the successes we’ve had,” including being an “A” or “B” district nine out of 10 years.
“Certainly we can pick at some things that we can do better on,” Pons said. “And I accept responsibility for that. But I’d also like the opportunity ... to talk about all the great things that are going on in the Leon County school district. It’s one of the best school districts in the state.”
The other candidates were asked to weigh in on Hanna and Pons’ comments. Sunday blasted Hanna, calling him a liar.
“I know for a fact he came into this race to destroy Mr. Pons,” she said. “Rocky has no room to talk. He says take the high road. He began this race on a low road.”
Van Camp said Hanna and Pons have been feuding ever since Pons moved Hanna from Leon High to a central office job in 2012. He said both have both good qualities and areas where they could improve.
“I’m not taking sides with either of them because they’re both grown men,” he said. “But if I was the principal, I’d bring them into my office and give each of them five licks and tell them shake hands and get over this mess.”
Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or follow @JeffBurlew on Twitter.
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