The DeSantis era
The candidate who said he wanted to continue the economic momentum under Scott is showing a few signs of changes
TALLAHASSEE — As he prepares to take office as governor Tuesday, Ron DeSantis is offering a few clues on how he’s going to govern — including decisions that could bring some sweeping changes to Florida despite Republicans keeping hold of the Governor’s Mansion.
DeSantis will face plenty of important decisions in his first days in office. He must name three Florida Supreme Court justices; address uncertainty over how to grant voting rights to ex-felons; fill out remaining vacancies in his administration and assess how to respond to a report on school safety recommendations from the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Commission.
From a 16th-floor office in the
Capitol, DeSantis’ transition team runs through resumes and vets potential hires. So far, his picks for top agencies suggest he’ll follow the formula of his predecessor, Gov. Rick Scott, on economic issues, but could blaze a new path in other areas and would also be closely aligned with conservatives in the House as he pursues his agenda.
In the few interviews he’s done since the election, he’s stopped short of declaring what concrete actions he’ll take. DeSantis’ transition team did not respond to repeated emails and calls to comment on this story.
Though dedicated to following Scott’s platform on the economy, there have been hints from the DeSantis transition team at a change in course in other areas.
On medical marijuana, Scott is battling a lawsuit looking to allow smokeable forms of the drug, something banned by state law. A court filing from the House last month indicated the incoming administration could opt to drop the case, although there’s been no official word from the DeSantis camp.
On the campaign trail, DeSantis also stressed he’d take a more proactive approach than Scott to taking care of the environment. One of DeSantis transition advisors, U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, slammed a recent decision by the South Florida Water Management District, led by Scott appointees, and called on the board to resign for agreeing to lease land south of Lake Okeechobee slated for a reservoir
to an entity owned by Florida Crystals.
The sugar industry is often blamed by environmentalists for much of the pollution that flows from Lake Okeechobee when water is discharged from the lake into nearby rivers. Lawmakers have eyed reservoirs to store more water south of the lake as a potential solution.
Senate budget chief Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, praised DeSantis’ moves so far and cited his more aggressive environmental platform compared to Scott’s.
“I’m really encouraged
that, like me, the governorelect considers himself to be a Teddy Roosevelt Republican,” Bradley said. “As a matter of fact, that’s why I endorsed him in the primary, largely because of his stance on environmental issues.”
But until DeSantis actually takes office and makes concrete decisions, Democrats and others hopeful of shifts from the Scott administration will remain skeptical.
“DeSantis was opposed to taking money from Big Sugar, which is something that we’re aligned on, so I’m encouraged by that,” said Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, DOrlando.
“But when you look at his voting record in Congress, I think that we kind of have to wait and see. … What’s unique here is that DeSantis didn’t really give us many policy specifics during the campaign, so the donors he appointed to these transition committees, they’re going to play an even bigger role in shaping his agenda — which is troubling.”
DeSantis’ first pick for his administration came during the campaign, when he picked a top GOP House member, Jeanette Nuñez of Miami, as his lieutenant governor. During the transition, he’s continued to fill his administration with current and former House members for top jobs.
His most notable pick is Richard Corcoran, a powerful former House Speaker who opposed DeSantis in the Republican primary, as education commissioner. Corcoran is a vocal proponent of aggressive school choice expansion, which critics have bashed as coming at the expense of traditional public schools.
As commissioner, Corcoran will also sit on the boards of the State University System and Enterprise Florida, an economic development agency he tried to defund as speaker.
During the campaign, DeSantis indicated he was skeptical of the type of incentive deals Scott championed as governor but wouldn’t make drastic changes to Florida’s economic development programs and would still follow the rest of his economic agenda — tax cuts and reducing business regulations.
DeSantis looks to be following through on that platform, picking loyal Scott administration hands like Ken Lawson to head the Department of Economic Opportunity, which oversees incentive projects and runs the unemployment compensation system.
Other House members picked for top jobs include Rep. Halsey Beshears, RMonticello, to lead the Department of Business and Professional Regulation and Rep. Danny Burgess, RZephyrhills, to head the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs. DeSantis also surprised some political observers by picking a Democratic House member, Jared Moskowitz of Coral Gables, as director of the Division of Emergency Management.
The numerous House members filling the administration, coupled with House Speaker Jose Oliva’s comments in November that he believes DeSantis is aligned with him on most issues, suggest the new governor will side with the House in important battles over policy.
The Senate has halted moves by the House to drastically reduce regulations on health care providers the last three years, a key Oliva priority.