Ryan Nicol
Broward State Attorney-elect Harold Pryor is revealing his transition team as he prepares to become the first new face in that office in more than four decades.
Retired Judge Ilona Holmes and Eugene Pettis, the first Black president of the Florida Bar, will co-chair Pryor’s transition team. Pryor will be sworn in in January after winning the Nov. 3 contest handily. He’ll take over for State Attorney Mike Satz, who announced he would not run for reelection following a 44-year tenure in that role.
Pryor’s team said Thursday he’s been in conversation with Satz surrounding that transition and that he “looks forward continuing the constructive dialogue with the outgoing administration.”
Holmes retired from the Broward County Circuit Court in 2018. She also has experience as an assistant state attorney, an assistant U.S. attorney and a Broward County Court judge.
Pettis, meanwhile, made history in 2013 as he was selected as Florida Bar president. Pettis co-founded the Haliczer, Pettis, & Schwamm law firm.
Attorneys Larry Davis, Mike Dutko, Charles Morton Jr., Karina D. Rodrigues and Stephane Toothaker will round out Pryor’s transition team.
Dutko is a partner at Dutko & Kroll, P.A. who has previously served as an assistant state attorney. He also has experience in policing, working as a police officer and organized crime detective.
David runs his own firm specializing in criminal law and is a former assistant public defender.
Morton is a veteran of the State Attorney’s Office for Florida’s 17th Judicial Circuit, which covers Broward County. He was the first Black assistant state attorney in that office. Morton later served as chief assistant state attorney from 2005-2013.
Rodrigues practices law at the Kelley Uustal law firm and is the president of the Broward County Hispanic Bar Association.
Toothaker leads the Toothaker law firm and served as special counsel to former U.S. Sen. Bob Graham.
“I am honored and humbled that such an impressive, experienced, and diverse set of legal experts have agreed to serve on my transition team as I continue my mission of delivering ground level criminal justice reform here in Broward while keeping all communities safe,” Pryor said in a statement on the team Thursday.
