Rufus and Torey's PR grandstanding doesn’t change their records

Yesterday was FAMU's 125th birthday. It’s a great time to remember that real Rattlers do what’s right for the FAMU and don't act as yes-men for political influences outside the university.

Rufus Montgomery and Torey Alston both lost big when the FAMU Board of Trustees bucked political pressure and appointed Larry Robinson as the university’s interim president back in July. After former President James H. Ammons announced his resignation, numerous trustees were told that the governor's office would not be happy with a decision to tap Robinson to serve as the interim leader. Robinson was attacked for being too close to U.S. President Barack Obama and too committed to building research programs at FAMU.

Rufus, Gov. Rick Scott's go-to trustee, threw a public fit during the July 16 teleconference when most trustees spurned his demand to consider names other than Robinson's.

Torey walked more carefully by declining to give Robinson an enthusiastic endorsement on July 16 and waiting to see where the vote was going to go. Like Rufus, Torey generally does what Scott wants. But he draws the line when it comes to things that would hurt him personally.

Neither Rufus nor Torey had what it took to sway enough votes to seat a candidate who was more to the liking of the governor's office. By the time of the August 15 "confirmation" vote for Robinson’s selection as interim president was near, it was clear that most of the trustees were going support him no matter how much the governor disliked the decision.

Torey used the August 15 meeting to grandstand against claims that he is a crony for Scott. He recommended former President Frederick S. Humphries' name for the interim presidency as an alternative to Robinson’s.

The move was less-than-genuine because Torey had almost a month after the July 16 teleconference to formally nominate Humphries for the interim presidency. But he failed to do so. If Torey had really wanted Humphries to have the job, he would have said so publicly weeks ahead of the vote rather than waiting until the very last minute.

Torey’s recommendation of Humphries was nothing more than a stunt to help his campaign for the Broward County School Board. His decision to bring Humphries' forward after it was clear that the board had developed a consensus around Robinson showed the governor's office that it was not a serious proposal.

Rufus has also worked to clean up his image after failing to obstruct Robinson's appointment. Back in August, he ran to the FAMU athletics office in order to pose for cameras as he purchased 100 tickets for the Atlanta Football Classic.

Rufus and Torey's lame public relations efforts don’t erase their records as trustees who are squarely in Scott’s pocket. It's already obvious to see who they’ll be working to please as FAMU searches for a new president.