Gordon Goodin, a Santa Rosa County commissioner, failed to report a four-day trip to Honduras in 2005, a violation of Florida Commission on Ethics rules.

Talking about the violation at a meeting of the Navarre Area Board of Realtors on July 8 – a day before the story broke in local media – Goodin said he should have reported the trip as a gift, but it hadn’t occurred to him because of the Goodins’ long friendship with Bill and Martha Pullum and the nature of the trip, to see the Pullums’ new home and to inspect the area’s hurricane recovery efforts. Hurricane Mitch devastated Honduras in 1998. Because the country is one of the world’s poorest, it was struggling to rebuild homes and infrastructure. Pullum, whose church was focusing mission work on the effort, invited Goodin to review their work and offer any suggestions he might have from his experience with Hurricane Ivan the previous September.

Alan Isaacson, a Pace minister and Realtor, has been a frequent critic of the county’s economic development efforts. He was among the most vocal opponents of the county’s controversial decision in February to pay Pullum $3.1 million for 92 acres near Interstate 10. Goodin voted with Chairman Don Salter and Commissioner Bob Cole in favor of the purchase; commissioners Jim Williamson and Lane Lynchard opposed the transaction.

Isaacson and likeminded residents have filed ethics complaints against Goodin and other commissioners and asked the State Attorney’s Office to study the purchase for possible criminal charges.

Goodin said the 2005 trip didn’t influence the 2009 vote, that there was no conflict of interest because he didn’t gain personally from the transaction, and that he believes the purchase was a wise investment by the county.

“I’m not ashamed, I’m not embarrassed and I’m not repentant,”  Goodin said Wednesday, July 8.  “My vote for the Pullum property is one I’d make again today without hesitation.”