A rare triumph of openness

Thanks to 14 Democratic senators

As the annual session of the Florida Legislature enters its frantic, final days, Democrats have had very little to celebrate. On issue after issue, they have fought valiantly but lost. They are reminded on an hourly basis how they are outnumbered by Republicans.

But Senate Democrats struck a rare blow for transparency and accountability on Tuesday, and they proved that a unified minority can still wield clout in an era of one-party dominance. The credit goes to Senate Democratic Leader Gary Farmer of Lighthouse Point and 13 of his colleagues, who rejected more secrecy at state colleges and universities.

Republicans wanted to toss a broad blanket of secrecy over the politically charged business of choosing the presidents of Florida’s 12 state universities and 28 state colleges. The bill (House Bill 997) rocketed through the House on a lopsided vote of 101-16, with (sadly) most Democrats voting for it. To the benefit of Floridians, senators closely weighed the benefits and drawbacks of this misguided idea.

This broad new exemption to public record and public meeting laws would have kept secret the names of all presidential candidates until 21 days before a vote, when only the names of finalists would be made public. Students, staff and faculty members would be kept in the dark. The bill contained a glaring loophole to allow an outside search firm to recommend just one finalist, and college and university boards of trustees could vet candidates in secret.

Supporters, led by Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, said more secrecy would result in broader, more diverse pools of candidates. Brandes argued that the Sunshine Law creates a chilling effect because applicants fear losing their current jobs or alienating employers if their job-hunting becomes public.

Backers did not cite a single example of that in several committee hearings and floor debate. But opponents, led by the First Amendment Foundation, cited several examples of another problem: University presidents who caused serious problems after being vetted in secret. The foundation cited specific cases at Auburn, East Carolina, Oregon State and elsewhere.

The people of Florida favor transparency more than Tallahassee politicians do. Voters proved it in 2002 when they passed Amendment 4, which played a huge but mostly overlooked role in Tuesday’s Senate vote.

That amendment, placed on the ballot by a more centrist Republican Legislature, requires any new public records exemptions to pass both houses by a super-majority of a two-thirds vote, which means 27 senators if all 40 are voting.

The Senate includes 24 Republicans and 16 Democrats. All 24 Republicans supported the bill. Democrat Jason Pizzo of Miami voted for it, and Democrat Audrey Gibson of Jacksonville did not vote. If just one other Democrat voted yes, the cloak of secrecy would have fallen over 40 campuses. The official roll call vote shows every Democratic senator from South Florida and Central Florida voted no except Pizzo.

The highly political nature of university president searches in Florida makes a compelling case for them to be conducted in the sunshine.

The narrow defeat of this expansion of government secrecy comes at a time when one of the state’s premier institutions, Florida State University, is searching for a president to replace John Thrasher. He announced his retirement last September but agreed to stay until his successor is chosen. Among the names that has been floated is Richard Corcoran, the state education commissioner, former Republican House speaker and ally of Gov. Ron DeSantis, who appoints the FSU trustees who will hire the next president.

Like Thrasher, Corcoran has a law degree, not a Ph.D., and he often showed a confrontational style as House speaker in clashes with a statewide teachers union. As education commissioner, he has been a critic of face masks in schools and has spoken in favor of a state takeover of low-performing schools. If anyone requires a thorough public vetting for the FSU job, it’s Corcoran.

Thrasher, a former Florida House speaker, state senator, prominent lobbyist and chairman of the state Republican Party, is praised far and wide as a strong leader at his alma mater, FSU (class of 1965). Thrasher has been a very effective fundraiser, and the university’s stature has risen dramatically, from 26th to 19th among public universities ranked by U.S. News & World Report. He greatly exceeded most people’s expectations.

But it’s worth remembering that Thrasher’s initial selection in 2014 was greeted with deep skepticism among students and faculty because of his partisan political profile. It was seen as another Tallahassee insider deal — a sinecure for a well-connected politician.

The public spotlight on Thrasher’s candidacy was beneficial and made him a better president. Decisions of that magnitude should not be conducted in secret. Thanks to Senate Democrats, some muchneeded transparency was preserved.

The Sun Sentinel Editorial Board consists of consists of Deputy Editorial Page Editor Dan Sweeney, Steve Bousquet and Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson. Editorials are the opinion of the Board and written by one of its members or a designee. To contact us, email letters@sun-sentinel.com.