Adam Putnam Let His Donors Get Away With Spraying Pesticides on Their Workers
Posted August 17, 2018 05:30 am
BY Kevin Donohoe
TALLAHASSEE, FL – A devastating new report from The Tampa Bay Times revealed that Adam Putnam’s Department of Agriculture let a campaign donor off the hook after they sprayed pesticides on their workers.
According to the Times , after Duda Farms sprayed pesticides on their workers, they immediately donated money to Adam Putnam’s re-election campaign for Agriculture Commissioner. The Department of Agriculture eventually found that Duda Farms had committed zero violations — and instead stuck a hired pilot with an $1,800 fine. And that wasn't the end of it: there were “at least two other instances of farms donating to Putnam's 2014 re-election campaign for agriculture commissioner while his department investigated illegal pesticide use.”
The investigation also reveals that Putnam has lied about his resume — claiming in advertisements to be a farmer and rancher in an effort to hide his record as a career politician. In fact, the Times reports, while “Putnam's siblings and other family members on business registration documents filed with the state, never including him. At times, Putnam has distanced himself from the company he now touts as his small business experience.”
Tampa Bay Times: How Adam Putnam turned his agriculture roots into a political machine
KEY HIGHLIGHTS:
• On the
morning of Oct. 16, 2014, Maria Garcia was
working in a celery field when she noticed a
small yellow plane spraying pesticides in
the next field over. A breeze blew toward
her and 50 coworkers. She took in a strong
odor. Her eyes itched and her head hurt. She
vomited.
• Garcia and a dozen others were taken to
the hospital with symptoms of pesticide
exposure. Half remained sick for weeks,
according to a Florida Department of Health
investigation, according to records obtained
from the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency.
• The plane was hired by Duda Fresh Farm
Foods to spray pesticides on one of its
radish fields. Just before the pilot took
off, someone working for Duda moved the farm
workers within dangerous proximity to the
plane's path.
• The Florida Department of Agriculture and
Consumer Services investigated. It concluded
there were no violations by the farm.
Instead, the agency fined the pilot $1,800.
• The Duda family and their business have
become one of the largest donors to Putnam's
campaign for governor, contributing $187,000
since the pesticide accident.
• The first $3,000 came on Oct. 17, 2014 —
the day after the accident.
• Farm worker advocates said the Duda
accident was one of the worst pesticide
exposure cases in more than a decade. In its
own investigation, the Florida Department of
Health said it was possible more workers
were harmed but they were afraid to step
forward.
• Putnam's office declined to explain why
the pilot was fined but not the company. His
campaign wouldn't make Putnam available for
an interview. Asked if the donations could
undermine public confidence in the
investigation, campaign spokeswoman Meredith
Beatrice said, "Absolutely not."
