Record

PAIGE KREEGEL

Personal Issues:

Stripper’s Paternity Claim: A stripper filed a paternity suit against Kreegel in 1991, alleging he got her pregnant, denied paternity, and urged her to get an abortion. In a court deposition, Kreegel said: “There is a remote possibility that had she been pregnant, it could have been by me.” Kreegel settled the case for $2500. (St. Petersburg Times, July 22, 2007; Charlotte County Circuit Court, Case #91-1353, Lena Nguyen v. Paige Kreegel, Filed 8/15/1991, Dismissed 1/8/92)

Summons Issued for Arrest: A summons was issued for Kreegel’s arrest on “criminal mischief” charges in 1989 after he allegedly kicked the car of a woman who was stalking him. (Charlotte County Circuit Court, Case #081989MM0012750001XX, Filed 4/14/89; Sarasota Herald Tribune, February 26, 2006)

Unlawful Operation of a Boat: In 1976 Kreegel received a misdemeanor unlawful operation of a boat in Miami-Dade County. Kreegel was fined and the case was closed. (Miami-Dade County Clerk of Courts, Case #M-76-065916, Filed 9/21/1976)

Civil Court Issues:

Sued for Unpaid Construction Bills: Contractors have twice-sued Kreegel for unpaid bills related to electrical work at his medical office and roofing at his home.

·        $13,831 judgment was ordered against Kreegel in 1994 for unpaid electrical work done at his medical practice. Kreegel paid off the judgment a month later. (Charlotte County Circuit Court, Case #92-1819-CA, Final Judgment for Plaintiff, Filed August 31, 1994; St. Petersburg Times, July 22, 2007)

·        $16,745 construction lien was placed against Kreegel in 2008 for unpaid bills to a roofing contractor. The lien does not appear to have been satisfied. (Charlotte County Clerk, Book 3333, Pg. 363, Instr. #1802417, Filed 10/23/08)

Sued for Unpaid Political Bills: A political media vendor sued Kreegel for unpaid bills stemming from his unsuccessful 2012 congressional bid. The case, filed in Charlotte County, remains on-going. (Charlotte County Circuit Court, Case #082012CA003795, Filed 12/11/12; The News-Press, January 8, 2014)

Medical Malpractice Lawsuits: Patients have sued Kreegel three times for medical malpractice but each case against Kreegel was settled and dismissed. (Charlotte County Circuit Court, Case #s 97-170-CA, 01-33-CA, 91-CA-345; St. Petersburg Times, July 22, 2007)

Medical Practice Indebtedness: Kreegel’s medical practice was sued for breach of contract and indebtedness in 1997 and the case was dismissed in 1998. (Charlotte County Circuit Court, Case #1997-CA-001408, Filed 8/15/1997)

NOTE: Kreegel sued Public Concepts LLC for libel after the political-ad agency released a direct-mail piece regarding Kreegel’s paternity suit, medical malpractice cases, and summons for arrest. The case garnered state-level media attention and was dismissed three years later. (Charlotte County Circuit Court, Case #082005CA001044, Filed May 5, 2005, Dismissed May 15, 2008; St. Petersburg Times, July 22

Ethics Issues:

Public Resources for Campaigning Investigation: House Speaker Marco Rubio launched an investigation, for the “first time in recent memory, into Kreegel regarding a complaint that the lawmaker used state resources for election purposes. While Kreegel was cleared of wrongdoing, his personal aide resigned. (The News-Press, July 9, 2008)

Pay-to-Play: Two months before he introduced a last-minute amendment to block Gov. Crist’s industry-opposed auto efficiency standards, Kreegel accepted nearly $8,000 from lobbyists for the auto industry. (Sarasota Herald-Tribune, June 22, 2008)

Possible Ethics Violation: A State Farm agent purchased Kreegel’s dinner in 2008 and in doing so potentially violated Florida law that bans legislators from accepting anything from an entity that employs a lobbyist. (Sarasota Herald-Tribune, March 16, 2008)

Pocketbook Issues:

State Spending Hike: As a representative Kreegel voted for budgets that increased the state’s overall spending by $12.6 billion — a 22% increase. (Sun-Sentinel, May 7, 2005; Florida Times-Union, May 26, 2006; Orlando Sentinel, May 27, 2007, May 29, 2010; Bradenton Herald, June 12, 2008, May 27, 2011, April 18, 2012; Palm Beach Post, May 28, 2009)

Billions in Budget Turkeys: Florida’s Governors slashed $22.5 billion in wasteful budget turkeys from the Kreegel-approved budgets — including Gov. Scott’s record $615 million veto in 2011. (Sun-Sentinel, May 7, 2005; Florida Times-Union, May 26, 2006; Orlando Sentinel, May 27, 2007, May 29, 2010; Bradenton Herald, June 12, 2008, May 27, 2011, April 18, 2012; Palm Beach Post, May 28, 2009; Florida TaxWatch, Budget Turkey Reports, 2005-2012)

$2.2 Billion in Tax & Fee Increases: Kreegel approved a Gov. Crist-enacted budget that cost Floridians $2.2 billion in higher taxes and fees on everything from cigarettes to park passes to car registrations and college assessment tests. (Palm Beach Post, May 28, 2009; Florida House of Representatives, May 8, 2009, SB 2600, Vote Seq. #515, Overall vote: 75-43, Kreegel vote: Yes)

Stimulus-Balanced Budgets: Kreegel approved a 2010 Gov. Crist-enacted budget that was balanced using more than $2 billion in federal stimulus funds. (Sarasota Herald Tribune, May 29, 2010; Florida House of Representatives, April 30, 2010, HB 5001, Vote Seq. #1122, Overall vote: 77-43, Kreegel vote: Yes)

Stimulus-Funded High Speed Rail: Kreegel authorized the state to compete for up to $8 billion in federal stimulus dollars to build a high-speed rail network that Gov. Scott rejected and shut down two years later. (Palm Beach Post, December 21, 2009; Tampa Bay Times, February 16, 2011; Florida House of Representatives, December 7, 2009, HB 1B, Vote Seq #524, Overall vote: 84-25, Kreegel vote: Yes)

Gov. Crist’s Cap & Trade Plan: Kreegel shepherded Gov. Crist’s cap and trade system through the House in 2008. The system, which required lawmaker approval to begin, was never implemented and Kreegel voted in 2012 to repeal it. (Sarasota Herald-Tribune, April 30, 2008; Florida House of Representatives, April 29, 2008, HB 7135, House Seq #969, Overall vote: 108-0, Kreegel vote: Yes; Florida House of Representatives, March 1, 2012, HB 4001, Vote Seq #1017, Overall vote: 82-34, Kreegel vote: Yes)

Marlins Stadium Financing: Kreegel voted for a 2007 bill to give $60 million in state-taxpayer dollars for a new Marlins stadium. The bill failed in the Senate. (Florida House of Representatives, April 26, 2007, HB 323, Vote Seq #212, Overall vote: 86-24, Kreegel vote: Yes)

Professional Sports Subsidy: Kreegel voted for a 2007 bill to give $540 million in new tax incentives to all nine of Florida’s professional sports franchises. The bill failed in the Senate. (Florida House of Representatives, April 30, 2007, HB 1079, Vote Seq # 313, Overall vote: 74-41, Kreegel vote: Yes)

College Tuition Hike: Kreegel voted in favor of a 2007 bill to raise tuition at Florida’s public universities by 40% over four years and in 2012 he again voted for a 5% tuition hike as part of the state’s budget. (The News-Press, May 3, 2007; Florida House of Representatives, May 2, 2007, SB 1710, Seq. #388, Overall vote: 79-37, Kreegel vote: Yes; Florida House of Representatives, March 9, 2012, HB 5001, Vote Seq. #1206, Overall vote: 80-37, Kreegel vote: Yes)

Opposes Government Spending Cap: Kreegel voted against a state-constitutional amendment that would implement government spending caps based on population and inflation. (Florida House of Representatives, May 4, 2011, SJR 958, Vote Seq. #541, Overall vote: 78-40, Kreegel vote: No)

Miscellaneous Issues:

“Ineffective” Lawmaker: The News-Press slammed Kreegel in 2011 for being an “ineffective” lawmaker as he failed to become chair of a committee and only saw one of his bills pass. (The News-Press, Editorial, June 14, 2011)

Supports Off-Shore Drilling: Kreegel supported off-shore drilling in a 2008 candidate survey and rejected Gov. Crist’s constitutional ban on off-shore drilling, but skipped a vote in 2009 that would have authorized drilling in state waters. (The News-Press, August 9, 2008; St. Petersburg Times, March 31, 2010; Florida House of Representatives, April 27, 2009, HB 1219, Vote Seq #315, Overall vote: 70-43, Kreegel vote: Absent)

Homeless People Are Bums: Following a string of attacks on homeless people for sport, Kreegel voted against legislation to add greater judicial protections and derisively referred to homeless people as “bums.” (St. Petersburg Times, April 20, 2010; Florida House of Representatives, April 20, 2010, HB 11, Seq. #821, Overall vote: 80-28, Kreegel vote: Yes)