The will of the people be damned as DeSantis sides with big money
Floridians now know just how arrogantly overconfident Gov. Ron DeSantis must be about winning re-election next year. He can directly attack democracy and wipe out a vote of the people while doing a big favor for a big-money campaign contributor — then laugh all the way to the bank.
The governor signed dozens of bills late Tuesday in advance of a July 1 deadline and saved the absolute worst for last. He signed into law a bill that retroactively nullifies three elections in Key West last November in which city voters overwhelmingly approved limits on the size of cruise ships and number of passengers who visit the city daily. DeSantis and his fellow Republicans proved they care only about money, not the fragile ecosystem of the Florida Keys or free and fair elections. The will of the people be damned.
This latest abuse of power by the Republican majority in Tallahassee proves again what happens in a state when one party has all the power and no reason to fear serious Democratic opposition or election year reprisals. More than 60% of Key West voters stood firm for local control, quality of life and cleaner water, and DeSantis wiped it away by a stroke of his pen.
Voters must not forget this when DeSantis reinvents himself as a pro-environment Republican next year.
The language overriding Key West’s election appeared dead in the closing days of the session, only to be revived in a hastily arranged floor amendment stuck in the back of a 38-page must-pass transportation bill (SB 1194). It passed the House 75-40 and the Senate 21-17. Both Republican lawmakers who represent the Keys, Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez and Rep. Jim Mooney, wisely voted no.
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Days before the start of the 2021 session, DeSantis’ political committee was the beneficiary of $1 million in 11 separate contributions from companies tied to Delray Beach businessman Mark Walsh, who owns Pier B Development, which handles most of the city’s cruise ship traffic. Those donations were first reported by The Miami Herald.
The people of Key West live in a special place. They voted to protect their little corner of the world, only to have a bunch of politicians in Tallahassee cancel it. With all that money flowing to DeSantis’ campaign, the people of Key West didn’t have a chance.
Key West resident Dianne Wright was one of many who pleaded for a DeSantis veto. She praised him for his leadership and his handling of the pandemic and wrote: “Explain to me how this referendum on huge cruise ships in Key West would negatively affect anyone in Florida. You can’t. Money bought that vote, and only you stand between us and the Walsh juggernaut who’s looking out only for himself. … You know in your heart that the people in Key West deserve to protect the environment and our island character.”
The time has come for the people of Florida to realize the grave threat DeSantis represents to their quality of life and to get more determined than ever that his first term as governor must also be his last. He has done too much damage already.