Jacob Ogles
Leaving no question there’s a new boss in the capital, Gov. Ron DeSantis has retracted another 169 appointments made by former Gov. Rick Scott before leaving office.
The Ponte Vedra Beach Republican sent a list of names Friday to Senate President Bill Galvano and said he wanted the names withdrawn: “I am writing to inform you that I have retracted the following appointments that require Senate confirmation.”
A spokeswoman for Galvano said the Senate will fully comply with DeSantis’ request.
“The President will act in accordance with the Senate Rules and will direct the Secretary to return the documentation of the appointments and document the return in the Journal,” said Katie Betta.
“Any new appointments made by Gov. DeSantis will be reviewed by the President and referenced to appropriate committees of jurisdiction for consideration.”
The list includes nominations to a host of major and minor positions, from college boards of trustees to trade boards and state commissions.
It’s not the first time DeSantis called back last-minute decisions made by his predecessor.
In January, he retracted nearly 50 of Scott’s appointments. At the time, the Senate moved quickly and withdrew all names from appointments.
With the 169 names retracted Friday and those appointments pulled back in January, DeSantis has now yanked 215 of Scott’s prior appointments. With this move, DeSantis effectively blocked every appointment Scott issued on his way out the door—and then some.
Scott, a Naples Republican term-limited as governor, now serves in the U.S. Senate. He’d previously dismissed any suggestion he made the appointments as part of a power play.
Some of the appointments DeSantis retracted took their posts just days ago. But he also cleared out people who were serving for months before DeSantis narrowly won election.
Garin Hoover, who has served on New College of Florida’s Board of Trustees since June, said he did not anticipate DeSantis nixing appointments made months before the election.
“I didn’t think it applied to someone like me,” he said. But Hoover’s appointment was among those retracted.
Here’s the full list of pulled appointments, with added context where available:
Steve Moreau, Board of Acupuncture
Darrin Rashad Williams, Board of Funeral, Cemetery, and Consumer Services
Matthew Caldwell, District Board of Trustees, Broward College
Randall Ewers, District Board of Trustees, College of Central Florida
Donald Cesarone, Construction Licensing Board
Edward McCullers, Construction Licensing Board
Scott Thomason, Construction Licensing Board
Garry Lubi, District Board of Trustees, Daytona State College
Anne Cogges Patterson, District Board of Trustees, Daytona State College
Angela Sissine, Board of Dentistry
Bruce Deardoff, District Board of Trustees, Eastern Florida State College
Edgar Allan Figueroa, District Board of Trustees, Eastern Florida State College
Ronald Hodge, Board of Employee Leasing Companies
Retired Tallahassee-area State Attorney William “Willie” Meggs, Commission on Ethics
Republican former state Sen. Garrett Richter, Commission on Ethics
Donald Shearer, Florida Board of Auctioneers
Matthew Varble, Florida Board of Auctioneers
Kerr Leuzinger, Florida Building Code Administrators and Inspectors Board
Hamid Bahadori, Florida Building Commission
James Batts, Florida Building Commission
John Gatlin, Florida Building Commission
David John, Florida Building Commission
Drew Smith, Florida Building Commission
John Wiseman, Florida Building Commission
Patrick Schirard, Florida Citrus Comission
Emmy-winning producer Chucha Barber of Tallahassee, Florida Commission on Community Service (a.k.a. Volunteer Florida)
Christina Bonarrigo, Florida Commission on Community Service
Lorena Jayne Cerio, Florida Commission on Community Service
Meghan Collins, who served in various communications roles in the Scott Administration, Florida Commission on Community Service.
Todd Demko, Florida Commission on Community Service
Ashton Hayward, Florida Commission on Community Service
Kyle Hill, Florida Commission on Community Service
Autumn Karlinsky, wife of Scott confidant and insurance lobbyist Fred Karlinsky, Florida Commission on Community Service
Natalia Martinez, Florida Commission on Community Service
Patricia Miller, Florida Commission on Community Service
Maritza Rovira Farino, Florida Commission on Community Service
Lys Rubin, wife of longtime lobbyist William Rubin, Florida Commission on Community Service
Kerry Anne Schultz, Florida Commission on Community Service
Sabeen Perwaiz Syed, Florida Commission on Community Service
Charles Jeffrey Vickers, Florida Commission on Community Service
Kelli Walker, Florida Commission on Community Service
Sherry Wheelock, Florida Commission on Community Service
Maryam Lagun Borrego, Florida Commission on Human Relations
Samantha Hoare, Florida Commission on Human Relations
Melinda Coonrod, Florida Commission on Offender Review
Jason Allen, Florida Elections Commission
John Martin Hayes, Florida Elections Commission
Lindsey Lander, District Board of Trustees, Florida Gateway College
James Surrency, District Board of Trustees, Florida Gateway College
Miguel Tepedino, District Board of Trustees, Florida Gateway College
Ashely Coone, Board of Trustees, Florida Gulf Coast University
Mario Pacella, Florida Housing Finance Corporation
David Leben, District Board of Trustees, Florida Keys Community College
James Rasmussen, Florida Prepaid College Board
JoAnn Rooney, Florida Real Estate Appraisal Board
Christine Chapman, Board of Trustees, Florida School for the Deaf and Blind
Ralph Hadley, Board of Trustees, Florida School for the Deaf and Blind
Christopher Wagner, Board of Trustees, Florida School for the Deaf and Blind
Michael Boose, District Board of Trustees, Florida South Western State College
Christian Cunningham, District Board of Trustees, Florida South Western State College
Jonathan Martin, District Board of Trustees, Florida South Western State College
Danny Nix, District Board of Trustees, Florida South Western State College
Laura Perry, District Board of Trustees, Florida South Western State College
Julia Richmon du Plooy, District Board of Trustees, Florida South Western State College
Ryan Felipe Estevez, Florida State Boxing Commission
Marco Lopez, Florida State Boxing Commission
Michael Yormark, Florida State Boxing Commission
Karen Bowling, District Board of Trustees, Florida State College at Jacksonville
Palmer Clarkson, District Board of Trustees, Florida State College at Jacksonville
Laura DiBella, District Board of Trustees, Florida State College at Jacksonville
Candace Holloway, District Board of Trustees, Florida State College at Jacksonville
Orrin Wayne Young, District Board of Trustees, Florida State College at Jacksonville
Julius Davis, Florida Transportation Commission
David Genson, Florida Transportation Commission
Dean Asher, Greater Orlando Aviation Authority
Julian Fouche, Greater Orlando Aviation Authority
Maria Montalvo, Greater Orlando Aviation Authority
Randy Ellsworth, Board of Hearing Aid Specialists
Maria Hernandez, Board of Hearing Aid Specialists
Anthony George, District Board of Trustees, Indian River State College
Palmer Clarkson, Jacksonville Port Authority
Jennifer Hooten, District Board of Trustees, Lake-Sumter State College
Emily Lee, District Board of Trustees, Lake-Sumter State College
Jaymie Carter, District Board of Trustees, State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota
John Home, District Board of Trustees, State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota
Rodney Thomson, District Board of Trustees, State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota
Steven Falcone, Board of Medicine
Andre Perez, Board of Medicine
Merle Preston Stringer, Board of Medicine
Susan Amat, District Board of Trustees, Miami Dade College
Benjamin Leon, District Board of Trustees, Miami Dade College
Rolando Montoya, District Board of Trustees, Miami Dade College
Juan Zapata, District Board of Trustees, Miami Dade College
Mark Aesch, Board of Trustees, New College of Florida
Felipe Colon, Board of Trustees, New College of Florida
Garin Hoover, Board of Trustees, New College of Florida
Sandra Haas, District Board of Trustees, North Florida Community College
David Howell, District Board of Trustees, North Florida Community College
Alton Williams, District Board of Trustees, North Florida Community College Charlotte
Ann Flynt, District Board of Trustees, Northwest Florida State College
Fox Reynold Henderson, District Board of Trustees, Northwest Florida State College
Lori Kelley, District Board of Trustees, Northwest Florida State College
Donald Paul Litke, District Board of Trustees, Northwest Florida State College
Thomas Wright, District Board of Trustees, Northwest Florida State College
George Roberts, Northwest Florida Water Management District
Heather Baumwald, Board of Nursing
Jennifer Raymond, Board of Nursing
Mary Julie Talmadge, Board of Nursing
Elna Rose Vizvary, Board of Occupational Therapy Practice
Katie Gilbert-Spear, Board of Optometry
John Edmund Griffin, Board of Optometry
David Rouse, Board of Optometry
Paul Weott, Board of Orthotists and Prosthetists
Darcy Davis, District Board of Trustees, Palm Beach State College
Phillip Ward, District Board of Trustees, Palm Beach State College
Raymond Gadd, District Board of Trustees, Pasco-Hernando State College
David Garcia, District Board of Trustees, Pasco-Hernando State College
Alvaro Hernandez, District Board of Trustees, Pasco-Hernando State College
Lee Maggard, District Board of Trustees, Pasco-Hernando State College
John Mitten, District Board of Trustees, Pasco-Hernando State College
Robin Schneider, District Board of Trustees, Pasco-Hernando State College
Wendell Smith, District Board of Trustees, Pensacola State College
Sherif Assal, Board of Pilot Commissioners
Mark Block, Board of Podiatric Medicine
Soorena Sadri, Board of Podiatric Medicine
Ashley Bell Barnett, District Board of Trustees, Polk State College
Daniel Dorrell, District Board of Trustees, Polk State College
Gregory Littleton, District Board of Trustees, Polk State College
Teresa Martinez, District Board of Trustees, Polk State College
Mark Turner, District Board of Trustees, Polk State College
Dylan Albergo, Board of Professional Engineers
Scott Drury, Board of Professional Engineers
Walid Sobh, Board of Professional Engineers
Robert Crum, District Board of Trustees, Saint Johns River State College
Wendell Davis, District Board of Trustees, Saint Johns River State College
Leslie Dougher, former Chair of the Republican Party of Florida, District Board of Trustees, Saint Johns River State College
Samuel Paul Garrison, District Board of Trustees, Saint Johns River State College
James Reid, District Board of Trustees, Saint Johns River State College
John Miklos, Saint Johns River Water Management District
Janet Price, Saint Johns River Water Management District
Allan Bruce Roberts, Saint Johns River Water Management District
Caridad Estevez Lee, District Board of Trustees, Santa Fe College
Jeffrey Oody, District Board of Trustees, Santa Fe College
Robert Lee Woody, District Board of Trustees, Santa Fe College
Tina Calderone, District Board of Trustees, Seminole State College
Daniel O’Keefe, District Board of Trustees, Seminole State College
Jeffrey Adams, Southwest Florida Water Management District
Ed Armstrong, Southwest Florida Water Management District
Scott Wiggins, Southwest Florida Water Management District
Pete Debelius-Enemark, State of Florida Correctional Medical Authority
Alphonas Alexander, Suwanne River Water Management District
Charles Keith, Suwanne River Water Management District
Eugene Lamb, District Board of Trustees, Tallahassee Community College
Eric Grant, District Board of Trustees, Tallahassee Community College
Arezou Jolly, Jacksonville Transportation Authority
Shaun Oxtal, Tampa-Hillsborough County Expressway Authority
Hung Mai, Tampa Port Authority
Stephen Swidal, Tampa Port Authority
Douglas Boumique, Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council, Region Ten
Robert Lowe, Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council, Region Ten
Erica Whitfield, Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council, Region Ten
Alonzie Scott, Board of Trustees, University of West Florida
Jill Singer, Board of Trustees, University of West Florida
Daisy Lopez-Cid, District Board of Trustees, Valencia State College
Raymer Maguire, District Board of Trustees, Valencia State College
Beth Smith, District Board of Trustees, Valencia State College
Karen Cuchens, West Florida Regional Planning Council, Region One
James Roy Foreman, West Florida Regional Planning Council, Region One
Lawyer, former state representative and friend of Scott Tom Grady, Investment Advisory Council
___
The former list of retracted appointments:
Philip Diaz, Board of Chiropractic Medicine
Dr. Zachariah Zachariah, Board of Governors of the State University System
Dr. Jay Patel, Board of Governors of the State University System
Fred Salerno, Board of Governors of the State University System
Nicole Washington, Board of Governors of the State University System
Dr. Emique Ginzburg, Board of Medicine
Nicolas Romanello, Board of Medicine
Linville Atkins, Board of Optometry
Dr. Mario Cabrera, Board of Veterinary Medicine
Dr. Christopher Smith, Board of Veterinary Medicine
Dr. Shobha Gupta, Broward College District Board of Trustees
David Maymon, Broward College District Board of Trustees
G. Edward Clement, Central Florida Expressway Authority
Randy Glisson, Central Florida Expressway Authority
Jay Madara, Central Florida Expressway Authority
Hannah Causseaux, Chipola College District Board of Trustees
Avis Craig, College of Central Florida District Board of Trustees
Robert Durrance, College of Central Florida District Board of Trustees
William Edgar, College of Central Florida District Board of Trustees
Robert Winsler, College of Central Florida District Board of Trustees
Richard Kane, Construction Industry Licensing Board
Carlos Beruff, Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Joshua Kellam, Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Christopher Groom, Florida Citrus Commission
Vernon Hollingsworth, Florida Citrus Commission
Robert Stork, Florida Polytechnic University Board of Trustees
Michael Roy, Florida Real Estate Appraisal Board
Poul Hornsleth, Florida Real Estate Commission
John Sherrard, Florida Real Estate Commission
Jeffrey Novotny, Florida Transportation Commission
Charles Powell, Gulf Coast State College District Board of Trustees
Joe Tannehill, Jr., Gulf Coast State College District Board of Trustees
Dipa Shah, Hillsborough Community College District Board of Trustees
Mark Feurer, Indian River State College District Board of Trustees
Christa Luna, Indian River State College District Board of Trustees
Brantley Schirard, Indian River State College District Board of Trustees
Robert Richter, Miami-Dade College District Board of Trustees
Dr. Cindy Roe Littlejohn, Northwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board
John Drew, Northeast Regional Planning Council
Tamela Cullens, South Florida State College District Board of Trustees
Nathan Stonecipher, St. Petersburg College District Board of Trustees
Thomas Grady, State Board of Education
Andrew Pollack, State Board of Education
Mark Goodson, State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota District Board of Trustees
Maicel Green, Tallahassee Community College District Board of Trustees
Michael Millett, Tampa Bay Regional Transit Authority
25 comments
Charles Brown
February 23, 2019 at 11:29 am
As with any new administration the selection of members of boards is the responsibility of the new administration. We the people of Florida selected Ron DeSantis as our Governor. He should be selecting any member of any board that goes onto the board under his term. I 100% support this decision.
Don
February 23, 2019 at 1:45 pm
So true. These are.not life time appointments. He gets to put his people in, is it payback time.
WhatAday
February 26, 2019 at 9:17 am
He also needs to remove Donna Callaway from TCC Board of Trustees. She is also a Rick Scott appointment and should not have been.
Ron Feezell
February 23, 2019 at 3:36 pm
Scott Thomason is a great man i hate to see his name of Ron’s list to be removed
Scott Thomason
February 23, 2019 at 5:58 pm
Thank you Ron. As someone who has served an appointment and the citizens of Florida for years I am shocked by this news.
GLJones
February 23, 2019 at 8:33 pm
He may reappoint him after a review. I don;t think this was personal at all.
CaptMorgan
February 23, 2019 at 4:15 pm
I wish Governor DeSantis would again grant tax incentives to the movie and TV industries to film in Florida. Thousands of jobs have moved to Georgia as a result.
Jay Grace
February 23, 2019 at 4:34 pm
One has to ask, ”Why did the previous, OUTGOING GOVERNOR, have SO MANY positions UNFILLED, TO BEGIN WITH?”
Florida politics are strange, but it’s the incoming governor that should get to appoint who he/she wants to these offices, but why did Scott have to fill 215 of them?
Scott Thomason
February 23, 2019 at 6:06 pm
The CILB had no new appointments for sometime. Division Two which should have 9 members had 6 which made it often difficult to meet quorum. Now they have less than quorum as myself and the other two members listed all served on Division Two.
Brian Donahower
February 23, 2019 at 5:44 pm
Appointees serve at the convenience of the Governor – 100% his call. Any effort to politicize this will likely fall flat… Gov. DeSantis has already demonstrated he’ll do the right thing for the right reasons regardless of party affiliation.
Scott Thomason
February 23, 2019 at 6:02 pm
As someone who has proudly served on the CILB for many years and the only NPA member of that board I am hoping he sees fit to reappoint me. I was reappointed in March of 2018 but was still awaiting confirmation. If he does not see fit then I am glad to have had the opportunity to serve.
Linda
February 23, 2019 at 11:32 pm
It may fall flat, but There were some very good people here. This just further divides the State Party, in my view.
Danny
February 23, 2019 at 10:53 pm
Is there any way we Can impeach him as senator .I still think his election was a scam from Bill nelson. After 3 years you would think people twice about electing that was convicted from stealing from medicare. I thought convicted fellows weren’t allowed to be in office. We don’t need anymore crooks in floridas offices.
James
February 23, 2019 at 11:26 pm
That’s why we voted Nelson out
virginia weaver
February 25, 2019 at 2:41 pm
James – Tell me exactly what Bill Nelson was convicted of or even accused of in all the years he served us as Senator? Scott & his company actually did falsify medical bills & stole the largest Medicare/Medicaid money in history (so far at that time). They pleaded guilty 14 felony charges & paid 1.7 billion in fines. Scott & four other top executives resigned. Two were supposed to serve prison time, but somehow that never happened. So even if Scott personally avoided being convicted, he is still as guilty as a sheep-killing hound dog.
Linda
February 23, 2019 at 11:39 pm
Under Gov. Scott, Florida became the second fastest growing state in the Nation. Anybody who thinks he wasn’t a great Governor is nuts. Rick Scott was never charged nor convicted of any crime. Get your so called facts straight. We could use a little unity in this state. I’m waiting for DeSantis to provide that.
Dd
February 24, 2019 at 7:59 am
Rick Scott was not convicted but the company he owns and runs was convicted for fraud. Sorry Linda but facts matter. Florida is the only state to send a convicted owner of a company for Medicare fraud to the Senate. Sorry ass state
MikePHL
March 10, 2019 at 2:32 pm
The reimbursement laws are arcane and difficult to understand; errors happen. Scott was an incredibly effective governor and will be a great Senator. We can only hope that DeSantis will be half as effective.
Mike Daley
February 24, 2019 at 11:53 am
Anyone who believes that DeSantis will act in good faith toward the people if Florida is delusional. DeSantis has an agenda to make and it is not in the best interests of Floridians.
Robert Young
February 24, 2019 at 2:47 pm
Real nasty move from Ron DeSantis to pull back EVERY appointment, including those from even before his election. Not a move of unity at all. Even Andrew Pollack, whose daughter was killed at Parkland shooting, removed. Bad move. And I want to make it clear that I was a DeSantis supporter +good to see Gillum lose) but several of DeSantis actions of late have reeked of what Democrats would do.
Mz Info
February 24, 2019 at 5:10 pm
Some names on this list I was hoping to see pulled. You see, some 4 year long appointments should have only been there for 2 years according to Florida law. But greedy appointees have slipped under the radar and continue to hold posts. And Scott let so many vacancies run term after term unfilled, and then decided to do his duty and make appointments days before he was out of office. Bad optics, really.
Desantis hasn’t yet pulled the names of some people who’s terms have expired years ago, but I’m hoping his office does a full review and finally oust these people. *Not naming names* 😉
Joann
February 25, 2019 at 9:31 am
I congratulate Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for understanding his responsibility to Floridians. Prick Scott never understood that the office was not there for the personal enrichment of himself, his wife, his children, and his friends. He used and abused state resources and taxpayer monies, just as his mentor, Trump is doing.
Thank God for term limits! It will take 20 years to undo the corruption and destruction of Scott’s 8 years.
I do think that the new administration will uncover illegal actions, widespread corruption, etc. from Prick Scott and his peeps. Will DeSantis have Scott investigated? Is there a Robert Mueller looming in the background to take on Scott? Stay tuned….!
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John
March 8, 2019 at 7:14 pm
He is going to go down as a great leader. Gov. DeSantis hit the ground running, did not buy the election, Scott bought 3 and the Gov’s opponent violated many ethics laws that we know of. He probably should be in the can. Scott was a big a bust as O”Bammer.
Comments are closed.