An Open Letter to Governor Ron DeSantis

Americans expect that those elected to office are those who receive the valid majority of votes cast. This is the fundamental democratic principle of our Constitutional Republic. Election integrity has rightfully gained as much attention as any issue in our political discourse.

We urgently advise you of concerns regarding how representative seats are filled through your appointments to fill vacancies. It is true statewide, but we present here our past and ongoing experience in our home county of Manatee.

Democratic principles must apply, to the extent possible, to those appointed to fill offices otherwise elected by a majority vote. Our elections are transparent. We can identify, sometimes with effort, what interests favor candidates by way of donations and political committees. We count the votes, and while we may be discouraged by dismal voter turnout, especially in primary races, those who choose to vote get to decide. Our elections are transparent.

What we see is a repeating pattern -- an elected official “resigns” from his/her post before their term expires, requiring you to appoint a replacement. The appointee immediately gains the advantage of being an incumbent should they seek election and your implicit endorsement.

During the next election cycle, usually within a year of the appointment (and just long enough for voters to stop paying attention to the drama of the resignation), campaign managers slap “appointed by Gov. DeSantis” on the marketing materials, elevating the "selected" candidate giving them an unfair campaign advantage.

Do your appointments place those in office who would win by popular vote, thus reflecting the people’s will, or those special interests who actively influence your appointment decisions? Is the appointment process transparent so that we know who applied for the appointment, who sought to influence your appointment, and do we know the basis of your appointment decision? These are rhetorical questions. The answer is no to each question.

Over a year ago, you appointed the current chair over another applicant for the school board despite nearly 1000 letters and endorsements from many grassroots organizations in Manatee County. Did your appointment best serve us? Perhaps. Did it reflect the result that an election would have yielded? Perhaps, but likely not. We do know that we can’t answer these questions because the process was not transparent. Choate, along with two others later elected to the board, were endorsed by you prior to their election. Your endorsement carried great weight, but voters decided what weight it carried and got to choose. No one person or special interest had a vote which counted more than any one of ours. That is not true in the case of appointments.

District 5 County Commissioner Vanessa Baugh resigned to tend to her husband’s health issues. You appointed Ray Turner to replace her and he now seeks election. We know that imminently qualified Robert McCann also applied and that former State Senate President Bill Galvano asked you to appoint Turner. We know this from the candidate, not from anything made public at the time. McCann will face Turner in the August Republican primary. Turner’s business background and the Builder’s Association made him the choice of developers who exercise undue influence on the current board. Turner enjoys the benefit of incumbency and your appointment. To date, he appears not to be the choice of his constituents. We shall see. If he loses, the folks who influenced your appointment will have done a disservice to both you and we the people.

Our Supervisor of Elections and former state representative, Mike Bennett, retires on March 1, which requires you to appoint his replacement as soon as possible. SOE Bennett provided his recommendation to you, which we implore you to consider along with any others who seek that appointment. Do it transparently. Leadership changes are challenging enough, but when they occur within weeks of the first statewide Primary election with your name still on the ballot, those challenges compound. We expect excellence and are not willing to settle for chaos that a less-than-qualified applicant would bring through the maladministration of upcoming elections.

We ask you to support Manatee County’s Residents by allowing us to ‘elect’ our own representatives, which can include those that have already been ‘selected’ for us. They need to campaign for their positions. They need to receive an office the old fashioned way, they need to earn it.

Kevin W. Wright
Concerned Citizen of Manatee County
Chair, Manatee County Republican Liberty Caucus
RLC-FL Director at Large