Gabrielle Russon
Republican Rep. Alex Andrade said Tuesday he was surprised the embattled Hope Florida charity actually employed an Executive Director.
By Wednesday, the news was out that Executive Director Erik Dellenback is leaving.
Dellenback’s resignation letter became public one day after he was in the hot seat during a House panel probe led by Andrade into First Lady Casey DeSantis’ charity.
“About a month ago, I officially resigned from my role in the executive office of the Governor for the State of Florida effective May 1,” Dellenback wrote in the letter. “This resignation came after a very prayerful time with my family.”
Dellenback had been at Hope Florida since Jan. 14.
DeSantis Communications Director Bryan Griffin said in a statement, “Mr. Dellenback is resigning to pursue the opportunity to become the new CEO of Florida Family Voice and will remain involved with Hope Florida in an advisory capacity.”
Andrade reacted to the Executive Director’s resignation, saying on X, “The decision by Erik Dellenback shows his character and integrity. Unlike James Uthmeier, Mr. Dellenback wasn’t implicated in any wrongdoing.”
Dellenback defended Hope Florida’s mission during Tuesday’s hearing. But most of the closer scrutiny fell on others during the House subcommittee meeting.
Lawmakers criticized Hope Florida’s lack of transparency and are questioning how Hope Florida received $10 million from a Medicaid settlement and then gave $5 million to a political committee controlled by Uthmeier when he was Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Chief of Staff. The money helped DeSantis defeat last year’s marijuana initiative. Andrade said he plans to dig deeper by interviewing more Hope Florida players and getting records all the way up to DeSantis’ Office.
“The faith and community piece, to me, is the secret sauce of Hope Florida,” Dellenback said as he described how Hope Florida taps into Florida’s 20,000 faith organizations and 110,000 nonprofits to help people in need.
In his resignation letter, Dellenback explained his rationale for stepping down without mentioning the House’s growing probe into Hope Florida. Dellenback served as Governor’s Liaison for Faith and Community for nearly six years.
“Ultimately, there were two things that led me to the decision: First, there are some other exciting opportunities that I have been offered, and will be letting you know about soon and secondly, it has been the honor of a lifetime to serve the Governor and First Lady in this unprecedented role for six years, however this role was progressing where they needed somebody in Tallahassee five days a week,” Dellenback wrote.
“As you all know, with everything my family has been through with the hurricane, I was not going to drive and be gone that much, and my kids are not in a place to move and rebuild community again.”
Dellenback reiterated his reasoning when reached for comment from Florida Politics.
“I did officially accept a role as the CEO of Florida Family Voice, an incredible nonprofit focused on marriage, family, life, and religious liberty,” Dellenback said.
“This is an opportunity that I had been pursuing for some time as I have spent most of my career outside of government. I am grateful to be asked to lead this organization and be able to have more time with my family. I resigned on March 10 and my effective date for leaving is May 1, so that I could ensure I finish well and do my small part of setting the state up for continued success.”
Dellenback declined to answer a follow-up question about why he didn’t disclose that he was leaving Hope Florida to lawmakers Tuesday.
10 comments
FL Guy
April 16, 2025 at 2:22 pm
Just the first piece of crap to get flushed in this scandal. Plenty more shit where he came from.
JD
April 16, 2025 at 3:10 pm
Unless he is the scapegoat.
Where are the Sunshine laws on this?
JD
April 16, 2025 at 3:16 pm
Florida GOP: where transparency goes to die under a pile of sunshine slogans.
If you squint through the spin, you’ll see government money funneled into what looks a lot like political laundering with a side of charity branding.
This isn’t just shady, it’s a full-blown eclipse of accountability.
Sunshine Laws? More like SPF 100 cover-ups. And no, this isn’t about PACs behaving badly, this is about your tax dollars being repurposed to block your vote.
Tell me again how it’s all legal? And that “We The People” put up with it from either side?
“It’s not the heat. It’s the stupidity.”
JD
April 16, 2025 at 3:19 pm
At minimum, the marijuana and abortion amendments should go back on the ballot. Free of charge, no signature games, no legal gymnastics. If state funds were used to meddle with citizen initiatives, the only fair remedy is a clean redo. You don’t get to rig the rules and call it democracy.
SuzyQ
April 16, 2025 at 3:29 pm
Cite the exact statute and/or applicable case law (i.e., legal precedents) that would allow what you’re now demanding.
JD
April 16, 2025 at 7:27 pm
OH NO, the dreaded ‘cite statute or it didn’t happen’ defense. Aren’t you precious. Here’s the thing: when state-funded actors funnel public dollars to sabotage citizen ballot initiatives, you don’t need a statutory post-it note. You need a conscience, a civics textbook, and maybe a lawyer who doesn’t moonlight as a campaign operative.
But if you really want citations, try these. Courts have struck down government interference in the political process under the First Amendment (Randall v. Sorrell), slapped down biased use of state power under the Equal Protection Clause, and even compelled remedies, including re-votes, when electoral fairness was compromised (Bush v. Gore).
And let’s not pretend today’s GOP even follows precedent. This crop cherry-picks case law like it’s an all-you-can-eat buffet, then acts shocked when anyone else demands accountability. So maybe don’t open with ‘demanding statutes’ when your own side governs by workaround.
Because let’s be real. If precedent actually mattered to you, half of what’s happening in Florida politics would already be in contempt of court or common sense. And yes, these are federal cases. But Florida courts often look to federal precedent when constitutional rights are involved. So the argument holds, even if your moral compass doesn’t.
Along for the Ride
April 16, 2025 at 4:13 pm
Thank you I agree! I think that a lot more shady stuff was done behind the scenes in other areas of the state government and DeSantis and his people have done a good job covering their tracks. Or so they think. And its possible the people who were in charge of our Legislature were also in cahoots because they rubber stamped everything DeSantis wanted. the 6 week abortion ban and the state parks that were going to be developed, the take over of New College, the fight against Disney. DeSantis needs to go and his wife does not and should not be elected to gov. we do not need another 6 years of DeSantis
Michael K
April 16, 2025 at 4:28 pm
Amen.
Michael K
April 16, 2025 at 4:27 pm
They are always “prayerful” when they get caught as if they’re absolved. This does not pass the smell test. And our governor is trashing the press for telling the truth! Corruption thy name is MAGA. We deserve better.
wake me up after Rona is gone
April 16, 2025 at 8:13 pm
Grifters wrapped in the flag thumping the Holy Bible. They are going to Hell!