A.G. Gancarski
The press shops of the Chief Financial Officer and the Governor did not respond to Florida Politics’ inquiry about setting an acting or interim CFO on Friday.
Our backup plan was inelegant but useful given the lack of official comment.
We simply called the CFO’s office and asked who the interim was.
The person who answered the phone said simply that Gov. Ron DeSantis hadn’t picked anyone yet, nearly two weeks after former CFO Jimmy Patronis was elected to fill Matt Gaetz’s unexpired term in Florida’s 1st Congressional District.
Asked about the vacancy on April 1, DeSantis suggested the opening would be filled expeditiously.
“We will have an Acting (CFO) through April. We will appoint somebody in May that will be the full-time official,” DeSantis said.
That acting CFO has not been announced.
Questions have been raised about the ramifications of the vacancy of the position that oversees insurance, treasury, banking, and fire marshal functions.
But DeSantis said on April 1 this was a “planned resignation” and didn’t seem worried about that. He said his office was “vetting” candidates and wanted someone with a “really strong agenda.”
There is recent precedent for selecting and announcing the Acting CFO in how the Governor’s Office handled the vacancy in the Attorney General’s office once DeSantis picked Ashley Moody for the Senate.
John Guard was selected as the acting AG on Jan. 21 and served in that role until the inevitable selection of former DeSantis Chief of Staff James Uthmeier for the interim role on Feb. 17.
Guard’s tenure was unmemorable, but he did fill the role.
There is no such urgency this time from the executive branch to fill the position though.
Even before he left office, Patronis stressed the importance of continuity.
“I wanted to ensure the transition is seamless,” Patronis wrote to DeSantis. “I take the functions of this office very seriously and believe a new CFO should be identified prior to my exit, and sworn in no later than the evening of April 2, 2025.”
That did not happen.
Patronis publicly endorsed Sen. Joe Gruters, a Sarasota Republican who already filed to run for Chief Financial Officer in 2026, to immediately take over the role.
DeSantis and Gruters have been at odds for years though.
One potential interim pick could be Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, a DeSantis supporter from Spring Hill. The delay in selecting him can be explained, in part, by the dwindling appeal of the Governor among legislators. DeSantis needs every vote he can get through Sine Die.
But that still doesn’t explain the lack of an acting CFO being announced.
Longtime observers of Florida politics will remember how Patronis came to the office. He was appointed to replace departing CFO Jeff Atwater by former Gov. Rick Scott. From there, Patronis won two terms.
Atwater aided Patronis through a transition, and Patronis wanted to do the same with his successor. That didn’t happen.
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Jacob Ogles contributed reporting.
