Since being sworn in as Florida’s 46th Governor twelve days ago, Ron DeSantis has lit the political world on fire, occupying both the headlines of the news and the nightmares of his opponents. DeSantis, who defeated Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum in a brutal race last November, ran a grassroots style campaign backed by President Trump. His race was watched closely by politicos nationwide as a litmus test of electoral support for the President’s agenda. Start the below video at around 7 minutes in.
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Making the Florida Supreme Court Great Again
Following his inauguration on January 8th, DeSantis wasted no time getting to work making good on a campaign promise to restore constitutional governance on the state’s Supreme Court. In his first act as Florida’s Governor, DeSantis appointed Judge Barbara Lagoa of Miami to fill one of three recent openings on the seven-member, term-limited court. Lagoa, who most recently served as a judge on the 3rd District Court of Appeals, will become Florida’s first female Cuban-American Supreme Court Justice, a background she says helped instill a sense of loyalty and gratitude to the American system of governance.
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“In the
Judge Barbara Lagoacountry my parents fled, the whim of a single individual could mean the difference between food and hunger, liberty or prison, life or death,” Lagoa said. “Unlike the country my parents fled, we are a nation of laws.”
Continuing with what the Miami Herald calls a ‘conservative makeover of the high court’, DeSantis has tapped Judge Robert Luck, also of Miami and the 3rd District Court of Appeals, to serve alongside Lagao. A former federal prosecutor associated with the Federalist Society, a prominent organization of conservative and libertarian lawyers, Luck becomes the first Jewish justice appointed to Florida’s high court in over 20 years.
“Really across the board, people who know him, like him and respect him. So I think not only will he be a formidable force on the Florida Supreme Court, I think he will immediately have the respect of all his colleagues on that court and beyond,” said DeSantis while announcing Luck’s appointment before media outlets and prominent members of Florida’s Jewish community. DeSantis will soon have the opportunity to appoint yet another Supreme Court Justice, as one more seat on the bench is up for grabs. While an announcement is expected soon, the administration has been tight-lipped about who Florida’s next Supreme Court Justice will be, but voters and observers alike can expect DeSantis to appoint another strong constitutionalist to the position.
Ron Desantis at 2019 inaugural address
“I will only appoint judges who understand that the proper role of the courts is to apply the Constitution as written, not legislate from the bench. The constitution, not the judiciary, is supreme,”
Firing Sheriff Israel
Central to DeSantis’ gubernatorial campaign was the promise to restore order and accountability to all levels of government in the State of Florida. Less than a week into his term as Governor, DeSantis began to do just that as he announced he would start the process of removing Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel from office on the grounds of poor leadership. Israel, whose jurisdiction includes the City of Parkland where 17 students and teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School were massacred on Valentine’s Day of last year, has made headlines ever since for his handling of events both before and after the shooting. Embarking on an anti-gun media campaign shortly after the shooting, Israel pointed his finger at the NRA and Republican politicians, claiming they were to blame for the tragedy that has left a lasting mark on not only Florida but the United States as a whole. In spite of his efforts to shift the blame, it was revealed that the shooter was not only known to be a potential threat by Israel’s department, but that Broward County deputies were ordered to stand down in the midst of the shooting, forming a perimeter outside the school as opposed to confronting the shooter head on as is standard police procedure nationwide.
Although some in the media have attempted to write off Israel’s dismissal as political showmanship, it’s far from it. DeSantis’ decision to remove Israel from office has come in response to nearly a year’s worth of complaints from Broward County deputies and citizens alike. Last April, the Broward County Sheriff’s Association lodged a ‘no confidence’ vote against Israel by a margin of 534-94. Just a week later, the deputies raised a billboard over Interstate-95 which read ‘Governor Scott: There is no confidence in Sheriff Israel.’
In addition to removing Sheriff Israel, Governor DeSantis has suspended Okaloosa County Public Schools Superintendent Mary Beth Jackson last Friday, amidst fallout over the school system’s alleged abuse of a 6-year-old student with autism. Accused by the boy’s family of covering up the abuse, no criminal charges were brought against Jackson, but a grand jury said it was ‘concerned’ with Jackson’s ‘behavior, lack of leadership, and failure to fulfill her obligation as superintendent’, as well as ‘inconsistent statements’ she has made about the case. ‘Students should feel safe in school’ said DeSantis. ‘This administration will not tolerate negligence nor incompetence from any government officials, especially those charged with the sacred duty of protecting our children.’
Draining the Environmental Swamp
Keeping with a campaign promise of major water policy reforms, DeSantis called last week for the resignation of eight board members of the South Florida Water Management District. In a letter to board members, DeSantis thanked them for their service but insisted it is ‘time for a clean reset of the board.’ DeSantis’ request for resignations marks the first time since 1987 that a Florida Governor has removed members from the board. Additionally, just two days after taking office, DeSantis unveiled an executive order which directs state officials to increase water monitoring statewide, establish a task force to address the growth of toxic blue-green algae, focus on more environmentally friendly infrastructure, and increase transparency and accountability among corporations and the state’s environmental agency alike.
Standing up for Israel
Throughout his time in Congress and campaign for Governor, DeSantis has acted as a strong supporter of the State of Israel, going as far as to assure Vice President Mike Pence that under his watch Florida would be the ‘most pro-Israel’ state in the union.
Now, after assuming office at a time where anti-Israeli sentiment is reaching a fever pitch on the left, DeSantis has directed the State Board of Administration to determine whether or not a recently enacted policy governing business operations in Israel by the company Airbnb qualifies as discrimination. The policy, which resulted in the de-listing of 200 properties located in Israel’s West Bank settlements, was enacted amidst pressure from Palestinian officials. It has been met with stark criticism in both Israel and the United States as public attention continues to turn towards the anti-Israeli ‘boycott, divest, and sanction’ (BDS) movement. ‘We have a moral obligation to oppose the Airbnb policy’ said DeSantis. ‘It targets Jews specifically…I think that’s wrong.’
Is DeSantis Getting Things Done Like Trump?
After such an eventful first two weeks in office, the heads of Floridians and those watching around the country are spinning with excitement, as well as the question of what comes next. DeSantis has already set himself apart from politicians of days past by making an immediate impact upon assuming office, but there is still work to be done. A loyal supporter of President Trump, a DeSantis for Governor campaign ad once featured a mock border wall constructed out of toy blocks in his living room.
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E-Verify is Coming
Now, DeSantis will look to build a virtual wall in the State of Florida by mandating the use of the E-Verify, a database used by employers to determine the immigration status of job applicants. While it sounds like a common-sense reform, E-Verify has been a hot button issue in Florida politics and faces opposition even within the Republican Party, largely due to the interests of big agriculture donors reliant on illegal alien labor, a problem DeSantis appears to be both well aware of, and interested in solving. ‘When I’m Governor I will sign E-Verify into law here in Florida for a LEGAL workforce!’ DeSantis tweeted during his primary campaign. ‘Putnam won’t do that because the big ag donors that fund his campaign want cheap foreign labor – that drives down wages for our citizens and breaks down the rule of law in our state!’
Another hot button issue DeSantis will look to address is that of medical marijuana. The Florida Medical Marijuana Legalization Initiative, also known as Amendment 2, was approved by a 71% supermajority of voters in 2016, allowing for patients suffering from diseases such as cancer, epilepsy, PTSD, and AIDS to be prescribed marijuana by their physician, although not in its smokable form. Yesterday, DeSantis instructed lawmakers to change that, as well as to change the way the state’s medical marijuana supply is grown and distributed. Under the structure of Amendment 2, fourteen companies control the state’s entire supply of medical marijuana, from seed to sale, owning everything from greenhouses to tractor trailers to dispensaries. The license to operate a medical marijuana business alone is worth over $50 million, making the industry inaccessible to most businesses, and leading to the formation of what DeSantis has referred to as a medical marijuana ‘cartel’ DeSantis hopes to work with the State Legislature to open up the market and allow for competition amongst individual growers, distributors, and sellers, taking control of the industry away from a handful of multi-million dollar corporations.
The DeSantis Administration is rapidly leaving its mark on Florida politics and the conservative movement as a whole. By taking immediate actions to clean up state and local governments, DeSantis has begun a national conversation on what true transparency and accountability in government should look like. If his initial days in office are any indication, the DeSantis Administration is on fire by way of getting things done! By refusing to kowtow to special interest groups and mainstream media pressure, DeSantis is continuing to push Florida in the right direction, towards freedom and prosperity, the American way.
