DeSantis, Cabinet fire top finance regulator
Ouster follows report investigating sexual harassment allegations
TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet voted to fire Ronald Rubin as the state’s top finance regulator Thursday following sexual harassment allegations against him, but the saga surrounding his time in office isn’t over.
Rubin’s lawyer, Michael Tein, told reporters he’d continue to pursue a lawsuit filed in MiamiDade County against a lobbyist he claims orchestrated the allegations against Rubin, as well as a whistleblower protection case that he believes should have shielded him from termination.
“Our lawsuit will continue, it will be heard in a fair court in Florida where justice will prevail, where we will get to the bottom of this,” Tein said after the vote.
A report released last week from the inspector general who investigated the claims against Rubin found he created an “intimidating, hostile and offensive work environment.”
Tein disputed the findings in a letter to Cabinet officials Tuesday, but DeSantis and the Cabinet opted to move forward with new leadership at the Office of Financial Regulation.
The agency licenses and conducts oversight of banks, credit unions, payday lenders, securities dealers and investigates financial crimes. Rubin has been suspended since May 10, when the initial sexual harassment complaint was filed but had continued to receive his $166,000 annual salary.
Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, the only Democrat on the panel, did not vote after claiming the agenda item to discuss Rubin’s dismissal was improper. It wasn’t on an initial meeting agenda but was later placed on the agenda after a meeting by Cabinet aides last week where the issue wasn’t discussed.
She left before the vote was taken, but DeSantis, Patronis and Attorney General Ashley Moody all agreed to remove Rubin, which was enough to fire him.
In a statement released after the meeting, Fried said she didn’t support keeping Rubin in office.
“In the interest of transparency and following the proper process, I today withheld my vote on this issue because it had not been properly placed on an agenda or publicly noticed,” the statement said. “Like my fellow Cabinet members, I did not support Mr. Rubin’s continued employment by the State of Florida.”
Moody and DeSantis, however, asserted the item was on the agenda in accordance with the law.
The decision means DeSantis and the Cabinet will have to conduct a new search for another director of the agency, five months after hiring Rubin. The vote also didn’t address the lingering accusations made by Rubin that one Cabinet member, Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, trumped up the allegations against him because Rubin didn’t hire his hand-picked attorney as general counsel.
Rubin’s attorneys have released text messages showing insurance lobbyist Paul Mitchell was pressuring him to hire Kim Grippa as general counsel, and that a Patronis donor asked Rubin’s father for a political donation in July 2018, when the job first came open. Rubin has sued Mitchell for defamation in Miami-Dade County.
Patronis has denied the allegations from Rubin and defended himself again Thursday, saying he didn’t put political pressure on Rubin to hire Grippa.
“Absolutely not, the entire application process was full, open and transparent,” Patronis told reporters after the meeting. “Mr. Rubin’s qualifications fit all of the minimum requirements and he exceeded them in some cases … but you know what? Only a damned fool won’t change. We will change the standards that we vet our employees moving forward and we will ensure that we have the highest quality characters and individuals to serve for the citizens of the state of Florida.”
Patronis said he “took full responsibility” for pushing to hire Rubin in the first place.
The inspector general’s report included 10 detailed allegations that Rubin frequently made inappropriate comments, including referring to a woman as a c-word in front of employees, telling employees about the sex life of his parents, telling employees his brother-in-law was gay and inviting a subordinate to visit his home in Washington, D.C.
Tein wrote to Cabinet members Tuesday saying some of the episodes didn’t happen or didn’t rise to the level of firing Rubin. He also called on Patronis to recuse himself in part because Patronis is being investigated by the FDLE for posting a redacted version of one of the complaints online without the permission of the alleged victim.
Tein said sexual harassment matters should be taken seriously, not “weaponized” by Patronis.
“(People are) tired of posturing. I know that they’re tired of someone weaponizing the #metoo movement for their own personal and political gain,” Tein said after the meeting. “Mr. Rubin apologized. Nothing that he did rose to the level of sexual harassment or discrimination.”
But the Cabinet disagreed.
“There was clearly poor conduct, and it was below the standards we should expect,” DeSantis told reporters. “Going forward we want to do a search that does have thorough vetting.”