Ron DeSantis pulls back nearly 170 Rick Scott appointments

scott, rick - with ron desantis
The new Governor retracted 169 appointments.

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Ponte Vedra Beach Republican sent a list of names Friday to Senate President Bill Galvano and said he wanted the names withdrawn: “I am writing to inform you that I have retracted the following appointments that require Senate confirmation.”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 “WillieMeggs, 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

Jacob Ogles

Jacob Ogles has covered politics in Florida since 2000 for regional outlets including SRQ Magazine in Sarasota, The News-Press in Fort Myers and The Daily Commercial in Leesburg. His work has appeared nationally in The Advocate, Wired and other publications. Events like SRQ’s Where The Votes Are workshops made Ogles one of Southwest Florida’s most respected political analysts, and outlets like WWSB ABC 7 and WSRQ Sarasota have featured his insights. He can be reached at [email protected].


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….!

  • 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.


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