TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Gov. Rick Scott's chief of staff has abruptly resigned amid news stories examining his job performance and handling of contracts.
Steve MacNamara wrote in a resignation letter Saturday that he would step down July 1. He wrote that "recent media attention I have been receiving has begun to interfere with the day-to-day operations of this office."
The Associated Press recently reported that while working for the state Senate, MacNamara helped steer a $360,000 no-bid consulting contract to a friend who now leads a task force rooting out state government waste.
The Miami Herald and St. Petersburg Times reported about other contracts and how MacNamara clashed with one agency head over MacNamara's decision to let the state's film commissioner travel to the Sundance Film Festival in Utah.
MacNamara, who has been on unpaid leave from his job as a Florida State University professor, will be replaced by Adam Hollingsworth.
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