Jesse Scheckner
Florida’s State University System Board of Governors has a new member: Ashley Bell Barnett, a community advocate, former educator, and donor to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign.
She’s also the daughter of Fort Meade Republican Rep. Melony Bell.
Bell Barnett, a former elementary and middle school teacher, will take the seat after years of service on many advisory and administrative panels.
She currently serves on the Polk State College District Board of Trustees and Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board — both DeSantis appointments — and the Polk Arts Alliance Advisory Committee.
Her educational background includes a bachelor’s degree from Florida Southern College and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of South Florida.
Bell Barnett’s appointment Monday to the 17-member Board of Governors, which oversees the operation and management of 12 public universities in Florida, comes just over five months after she contributed generously to DeSantis’ bid for the nation’s most powerful office.
In June, Bell Barnett gave DeSantis’ campaign a maximum donation of $6,600. She also donated $20,000 to Never Back Down, a political action committee (PAC) supporting the Governor’s White House run.
Her husband, investment and real estate executive Wesley Barnett, gave $6,600 to DeSantis’ presidential campaign and $17,000 to the Governor’s re-election campaign last year. He is the son of late philanthropist Carol Jenkins Barnett, whose father, George Jenkins, founded Publix Super Markets.
Bell Barnett’s political giving in Florida dates back to September 2017, when she gave $1,000 to her mom’s House campaign.
Division of Elections records show her biggest in-state contribution was a $10,000 check in July 2020 to Citizens for Polk Education, a now-closed PAC that supported Polk County School Board member William Allen’s 2020 run for office
Former Publix Vice President Hoyt Barnett, Bell Barnett’s father-in-law, donated another $25,000 to the PAC. Their contributions combined accounted for 42% of the PAC’s funding, which in part paid for a Facebook ad lodging accusations of racism against then-incumbent School Board member Billy Townsend.
Allen defeated Townsend with 52% of the vote.
Bell Barnett was among 215 people former Gov. Rick Scott named to board posts before he left in 2019 whose appointments DeSantis retracted after taking office.
The move proved temporary in her case. DeSantis reaffirmed her appointment to the Polk State College District Board of Trustees, for which she has served as Vice President, and reappointed her in December 2020 and in June 2023.
He also named her to the Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board in December 2020, reappointing her this past August.
Bell Barnett is a fifth-generation Floridian. She has also served in various capacities with the United Way of Central Florida, Talbot House, Lakeland Regional Hospital Foundation and Bonnet Springs Park, among others.
Her appointment is subject to Florida Senate confirmation.
26 comments
rick whitaker
November 27, 2023 at 7:37 pm
this all seems illegal to me. if not illegal, unethical.
Tim
November 28, 2023 at 7:43 pm
Totally illegal and typically Republican.
rick whitaker
November 27, 2023 at 7:37 pm
this all seems illegal to me. if not illegal, unethical.
Ron DeSantis wears High Heels
November 27, 2023 at 8:16 pm
Corruption in plain site.
good grief
November 28, 2023 at 3:28 pm
Florida’s not on the plains. Facts.
My Take
November 29, 2023 at 6:39 pm
It’s part of the coastal plain.
Cheesy Floridian
November 27, 2023 at 8:35 pm
Donate to DeSantis = high paying powerful positions within the gov.
Just Wondering
November 28, 2023 at 10:09 am
How much does this position pay?
Ds
November 28, 2023 at 1:28 am
Barnett is a dedicated community advocate and is committed to making a positive impact on the lives of Floridians.
Tim
November 28, 2023 at 7:46 pm
Right. And the Pope is Jewish!
rick whitaker
November 29, 2023 at 7:21 pm
wasn’t barnett the one that paid to bus insurrectionist’ to the capitol to participate in the january 6th coup attempt? dedicated community advocate my ass.
My Take
November 28, 2023 at 1:32 am
Does the Royal Family in Saudi Arabia have a more incestous office-filling system?
I don’t 8th mean her and her mother, I more mean the same people in board (or equivalent) after board.
State control by a small population of ìnsiders.
My Take
November 28, 2023 at 1:35 am
“8th” ???
Where did that come from?
I suspect poltergeists
JustBabs
November 28, 2023 at 8:17 am
Desantis rules Florida using the “pay to play” system of corrupt government.
It's Complicated
November 28, 2023 at 9:12 am
I recognize that it’s been a couple of decades since Democrats have been in a position to appoint anyone to these gubernatorial posts in Florida, thus making it a distant memory, but this is exactly how it works on both sides of the aisle when it comes to political appointments.
Do you think for a second that then-Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried appointed people who did NOT support her to the Agricultural Advisory Council, or Endangered Plant Advisory Council, or Statewide Farmworker Advisory Council, or Advisory Council on Climate and Energy, or Food Safety and Food Defense Advisory Council, etc., when she was in office?
Just curious, what would be illegal (as in a violation of Florida Statutes) about these DeSantis appointments?
andy crossfield
November 29, 2023 at 6:57 am
I think it is obvious, but I’ll play. The money is always the best identifier to corruption. Follow it. Use the strings attached if necessary.
rick whitaker
November 29, 2023 at 7:31 pm
desantis is always going to do the partisan, unethical thing over the right thing every time. what’s wrong with hiring the best person without regard to political affiliation? maga cult wants power, not anything else. from your comment, i assume you are a desantis supporter. and by the way, two wrongs don’t make a right..
Who killed Peter Antonacci? 🧐
November 28, 2023 at 10:59 am
Who killed Peter Antonacci? 🧐
And why didn’t anybody notice he was dead? 🧐
And even more importantly, why did the governor cover up his death?🧐
good grief
November 28, 2023 at 3:27 pm
Oh FFS, Peter Antonacci died doing what he loved – screaming at people. Let him rest in peace.
Ron Desanstis works for a foreign apartheid regime
November 28, 2023 at 11:52 am
I would also like to purchase a political office, who do I contact? I will pay the 6600 fee and a 15,000 donation to the PAC. Please contact me to finalize.
PeterH
November 28, 2023 at 12:32 pm
Further destruction of Florida’s once terrific University system. POLITICO featured a compelling story yesterday concerning academic trashing of Ron DeSantis’s tenured appointment of Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo to the University system. In the past year Ladapo has shown up for work twice …….and Florida taxpayers forked over $250,000. for his salary to do nothing!
Republicans are America’s worst enemy!
Vote all Republicans out of office!
andy crossfield
November 29, 2023 at 7:00 am
But Ladapo is the health czar now. It’s hard to keep up. Does he still get the 250K from the university system plus his Dr Czar salary?
Earl Pitts "America's-Go-To-Political--Guru" American
November 28, 2023 at 5:23 pm
Good evening America,
Please ignore all the above 💩 4 🧠’s commentary above.
Let’s get real America, would a 💩 4 🧠’s leftist appoint a staunch and stalwart conservative to any position in their twisted anti-American administration….HEII TO THE NO.
So STFU.
Thanks America glad we got that cleared up so now you Lefty’s can focus on your mental preparation for the next EIGHT glorious years of safety and prosperity under our next POTUS RON DESANTIS.
Thanks EPA
rick whitaker
November 28, 2023 at 8:15 pm
CAUTION ⚠ TROLL COMMENT BY EARL SHITTS
andy crossfield
November 29, 2023 at 7:04 am
How illuminating that you use pictures to represent four letter words. Either it is an attempt to circumvent the censors, or your appreciative audience requires them for comprehension. It’s a toss up.
rick whitaker
November 29, 2023 at 8:40 am
obviously earl is misguided and childish, but that can be said of the bulk of the maga cultist.. at 82 years old, earl is not going to be as sharp as the rest of us younger people.
Comments are closed.