Bill Proctor is the

Leon County, Florida Leon County is a county in the Panhandle of the U.S. state of Florida. It was named after the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León. As of the 2020 census, the population was 292,198. The county seat is Tallahassee, which is also the state cap ...

District 1 County Commissioner, a role in which he has served since 1996. Since 2000 he has also been an instructor in political science at

Florida A&M University Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a public historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida. Founded in 1887, It is the third largest historically black university in the U ...

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In ...

since 2000. In his career he has run afoul of

campaign finance Campaign finance, also known as election finance or political donations, refers to the funds raised to promote candidates, political parties, or policy initiatives and referendums. Political parties, charitable organizations, and political ac ...

laws a number of times, resulting in his being charged with 178 penalty counts, ordered by the State of Florida Commission on Ethics to pay

civil penalties A civil penalty or civil fine is a financial penalty imposed by a government agency as restitution for wrongdoing. The wrongdoing is typically defined by a Codification (law), codification of legislation, regulations, and decrees. The civil fine ...

, and suffering his

misdemeanor A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than adm ...

convictions for failing to report

political contribution Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...

s. In addition, his salary is garnished for his failing to pay federal

income taxes An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...

and outstanding student loans. Commenting on his legacy, he said: "Whatever it is they say I am, I’m going to continue being all those things. And then when I’m dead, I’ll be done."

Early life

Proctor grew up in

Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the population ...

, and attended FAMU high school. He received undergraduate and law degrees from

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...

, and also studied at

Boston University School of Theology Boston University School of Theology (BUSTH) is the oldest theological seminary of American Methodism and the founding school of Boston University, the largest private research university in New England. It is one of thirteen theological school ...

, and

Wesley Seminary Wesley Seminary is an evangelical Christian theological seminary that was founded by the Wesleyan Church denomination and Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU). Wesley Seminary is located on Indiana Wesleyan University's main campus in Marion, India ...

in Washington, D.C.

Career

Proctor served on former Florida Governor

Lawton Chiles Lawton Mainor Chiles Jr. (April 3, 1930 – December 12, 1998) was an American politician who served as the 41st governor of Florida from 1991 until his death in 1998. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a United States ...

' 1994 re-election committee before being essentially fired according to Chuck Wolfe, Chiles' director of external affairs. Since 1996, he has been the

District 1 County Commissioner. In August 2022, he won another two-year term. Since August 2000, Proctor has also been an instructor in Political Science at

Campaign finance violations

In 1998, after a series of

violations, including a number of unreported

campaign contribution Campaign finance, also known as election finance or political donations, refers to the funds raised to promote candidates, political parties, or policy initiatives and referendums. Political parties, charitable organizations, and political ac ...

s, the

Florida Elections Commission The Florida Election Commission (FEC) is an organisation set up in 1973 to enforce campaign finance laws in the United States' state of Florida. "The commission is composed of nine members appointed by the governor A governor is an administrat ...

charged Proctor with 178 penalty counts totaling over $200,000 in damages, a figure that was reduced by a judge in 2004 to $82,000. Proctor responded by calling members of the Elections Commission the "funkiest and foulest low-life demons in existence against black political empowerment since the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

," according to the ''

Tallahassee Democrat The ''Tallahassee Democrat'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper. It covers the area centered on Tallahassee in Leon County, Florida, as well as adjacent Gadsden County, Jefferson County, and Wakulla County. The newspaper is owned by Gannett Co., ...

''. The State of Florida Commission on Ethics ordered Leon County Commissioner Bill Proctor to pay

on August 24, 2000, for violating the Full and Public Disclosure of Financial Interests sections of the

Florida Constitution The Constitution of the State of Florida is the document that establishes and describes the powers, duties, structure, and function of the government of the U.S. state of Florida, and establishes the basic law of the state. The current Constitu ...

. In October 2001, an attorney for the Florida Elections Commission said Proctor had shown "a gross defiance" of campaign finance laws. The morning after his

conviction of failing to report eight

s, Proctor did not show up for a hearing on the state's allegations, when asked why he said he had not been notified of the hearing.

Tax evasion

Leon County Commissioner Proctor's salary is garnished for his failing to pay $20,334 in federal

and penalties as well as $28,983 in outstanding student loans. According to court records, Proctor also owes the

IRS The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory tax ...

a total of $61,750 in unpaid income taxes, interest, and penalties.

Teaching attendance

The dean of FAMU issued a written reprimand for Proctor's frequent unexcused absences, and the campus newspaper, ''

The Famuan ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'', wrote an exposé about absentee professors naming only Proctor. When questioned in 2007, Proctor said, "I have the discretion and academic freedom to grade my courses as I deem. It ain't high technology and how many bolts of steel you need to have in a 40-story building." In 2010, the ''Tallahassee Democrat'' asked why he was frequently absent. He responded, "I have no idea. I mean, I can't remember."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Proctor, Bill Living people 1959 births American people convicted of campaign finance violations Boston University School of Theology alumni County commissioners in Florida Florida A&M University faculty Florida Democrats Howard University alumni People from Leon County, Florida People from Tallahassee, Florida