Bill Proctor

• Florida A & M University Political Science Instructor.
• Special assistant for Governor Lawton Chiles.
• Leon County Commissioner for District 1.

In 1998, after a series of campaign finance violations, including a number of unreported campaign contributions, the Florida Elections Commission 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," according to the Tallahassee Democrat.[1]

The State of Florida Commission on Ethics ordered Leon County Commissioner Bill Proctor to pay civil penalties on August 24, 2000 for violating the Full and Public Disclosure of Financial Interests sections of the Florida Constitution.[2]

In October 2001, an attorney for the Florida Elections Commission said Leon County Commissioner Bill Proctor has shown "a gross defiance" of campaign finance laws. The morning after his misdemeanor conviction of failing to report eight political contributions, 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.[3]

Leon County Commissioner Bill Proctor's salary is garnished for failing to pay $20,334 in federal income taxes and penalties as well as $28,983 in outstanding student loans. According to court records, Proctor also owes the IRS a total of $61,750 in unpaid income taxes, interest and penalties.[4]

The dean of FAMU issued a written reprimand for Proctor's frequent unexcused absences, and the campus newspaper, The Famuan, 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."[1] In 2010, the Tallahassee Democrat asked why he was frequently absent. He responded, "I have no idea. I mean, I can't remember."[5]

In September 2014, Bill Proctor's son, Jordan Proctor, was arrested after giving a statement to police and was charged with armed robbery. Commissioner Proctor in a statement about Jordan's violent crime of robbing a Pizza Hut delivery driver at gunpoint said, "That's my son and I love him," and "From this moment forward, we’ll try to recover and I’m hopeful he’ll have a chance to hit the restart button and make a contribution." He then asked the community to pray for the family.[6]

Jordan Proctor was again arrested on April 9, 2016 for charges of marijuana possession with intent to sell, possession of narcotics equipment and possession of more than 20 grams of marijuana.[7] In response to the incident, Bill Proctor stated, "“not all lessons, you would hope, should be so difficult to receive.”[7] Prior to this, Bill Proctor had been "pushing for softer marijuana penalties."[7]

The third felony arrest of Bill Proctor's son occurred in December 2016. After attempting to cash an altered check, Bill Proctor's son returned the next day to rob the bank at gunpoint.[8] This was Jordan Proctor's 3rd felony and 2nd armed robbery charge in a span of 2 years after twice being entered in a conditional release program.[8]