ORLANDO, Fla. -- One phone call could end up costing an Orlando city commissioner $10,000. A state ethics lawyer with the Attorney General's Office wants Commissioner Daisy Lynum to pay a fine for calling the chief of police after her son was pulled over by an officer.
Lynum contends she was just trying to protect her son. She says she was acting as a mother and thought her son was in danger, but police say her son was pulled over because a headlight was out.
Lynum may have to shell out $10,000 and receive a public censure, all because she made a telephone call to the chief while her son was being pulled over by police in 2005. The Attorney General's Office says the commissioner tried to use her position to get her son, Juan Lynum, out of a traffic ticket.
Lynum said she never asked for a ticket to be waived and said she reacted like any other mother would. She testified she was worried about her son's safety in a hearing last October.
" I said, 'I don't want a white boy to tase or kill my son,' " she testified.
Lynam's attorney, Rick Jancha, says the judge should throw out the recommendation. Lynum ended up paying for her son's ticket and no one benefited from any of her calls.
" I would hope any public official could call on behalf of their child. To me, it's not inappropriate, " Jancha said.
Eyewitness News tried to talk to Daisy Lynum, but calls and emails were not returned.
A judge will make a final recommendation.
Daisy Lynum has been serving as an Orlando city commissioner for 11 years. She was elected in 1998 to represent Orlando's District 5. That covers the Parramore community and the Holden area. Eyewitness News checked through archives over the past decade and found no other major ethics violations filed against her.
