A coalition of Florida Democrats has reportedly begun rallying on behalf of a slew of corrupt elected local and state officials who were justifiably terminated from their posts by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis over their stunning incompetence, corruption and partisan hackery.
Led by Broward County Democratic Party member Michael Albetta, the coalition specifically takes issue with the governor’s ouster of former Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel, Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher and Okaloosa County school superintendent Mary Beth Jackson.
Longtime Democratic activists Michael Albetta and Patty Lynn, now with @browardsheriff, at @PrideCenterFL pic.twitter.com/MrT9D6McC6
— Anthony Man (@browardpolitics) May 26, 2017
In a statement to the Sun-Sentinel, Albetta said he and his peers dislike DeSantis “coming in and handpicking certain constitutional officers and … replacing them with handpicked Republicans.”
Another member of the coalition, Karen P. Fortman of the Presidents’ Council of Democratic Clubs and Caucuses and the Davie-Cooper City Democratic Club, added that people have a “right to vote for their officials and representatives without fear or threat of misuse of power to usurp the democratic process and to nullify the intent of the voters of Broward County.”
While the arguments posited by Albetta and Fortman seem to suggest a noble intent, the evidence paints another picture. In the case of former Sheriff Scott Israel, for instance, his termination directly affected Albetta to the tune of nearly $65,000, according to the Sun-Sentinel.
“On Jan. 11, DeSantis suspended Israel and appointed Gregory Tony as sheriff. On Feb. 1, a document from the Sheriff’s Office shows, Tony signed an order laying off Albetta, effective Feb. 15. His salary was $64,139 a year,” the outlet has confirmed.
That’s a lot of money to lose …
When @GovRonDeSantis suspended the disgraced former Sheriff Scott Israel, he appointed Greg Tony as the new sheriff.
Now that Tony has fired the rest of Israel’s cronies, they’re organizing a rally to protest losing their $65,000/year do nothing jobs. https://t.co/RQmWZOtyfp
— Hunter Pollack (@PollackHunter) April 3, 2019
Also notable is that both Albetta and Fortman seem suspiciously unaware — or simply unwilling to acknowledge — the corruption that surrounded Israel, Bucher and Jackson.
During the mass shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in February of 2018, Israel’s deputies reportedly cowered behind their cruisers with their pistols drawn instead of intervening. Why? Because of orders given by the then-sheriff.
“Our sources near the Broward County Sheriff’s Department are telling us that the deputies who arrived at the scene of the shooting were told not to enter the school unless their body cameras were turned on,” Fox News host Laura Ingraham noted at the time. “Then we found out that the deputies did not have body cameras, so they did not enter the building or engage the shooter.”
Listen:
To make matters worse, Israel, a Democrat, refused to accept any blame for the disaster, choosing instead to suggest to the media that he deserved kudos for his “amazing leadership.”
Similar allegations of possible corruption and incompetence surround Bucher, whose bungling of recounts in the 2018 election last year delayed the conclusion of the election by weeks.
Regarding Jackson, she was suspended by DeSantis on behalf of Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran, according to the Northwest Florida Daily News.
“In a letter sent to DeSantis recommending Jackson’s suspension, Corcoran asked the governor to carefully consider the findings of a grand jury, which met twice in 2018 to look at School District policies and procedures and consider bringing criminal charges against Jackson. Jurors were extremely critical of the superintendent but did not find probable cause to seek a criminal indictment,” the newspaper reported in January.
“Based on the grand jury’s findings … and the grave and serious nature of these failures, I strongly recommend you exercise your authority under Article IV, Section 7(a) of the Florida Constitution and immediately suspend Superintendent Mary Beth Jackson from office,” the commissioner wrote in a letter to DeSantis.
It’s unclear why Albetta and Fortman have chosen to seemingly ignore this corruption. It’s also unknown why Albetta, in particular, loathes DeSantis so much that he refers to him as “DeSatan.”
As for his coalition, its only current goals appear to be to convince Florida’s Democrat Party leaders to participate in an upcoming anti-DeSantis rally and reportedly make it more difficult for President Donald Trump to win Florida come 2020.
The Sun-Sentinel notes that Cynthia Busch, the chairwoman of the Broward Democratic Party, agrees with Albetta’s sentiments but “she isn’t certain that there’s a concrete plan of action besides holding a rally” and took issue with him referring to the governor as “DeSatan.”
It would not be the sort of language I would do,” she said, adding that she hasn’t decided yet whether she’ll attend the upcoming rally.
It’s also unclear whether a rally would affect anything, given as DeSantis currently enjoys soaring poll numbers courtesy his successful governorship.
According to political commentator and Fox News contributor Deroy Murdock, DeSantis has been knocking it out the park since his inauguration in January.
“Since his January 8 inauguration, DeSantis has … led a burst of pro-market, limited-government reforms that are making Florida even greater,” Murdock opined last month for Fox News.
Unpredictable Florida governor Ron DeSantis cleans house and bucks status quo to make state greathttps://t.co/0RFjP9IoyU
God Bless You @RonDeSantisFL What A Great Job Your Doing @realDonaldTrump #Trump2020— Bama fanatic??@fanatic_bama (@Bamafanaticfan1) March 11, 2019
Broward Democrats are calling Governor Desantis “DeSatan”
Governor @RonDeSantisFL is cleaning up the environment, holding corrupt officials accountable and protecting our schools.
Democrats across the country truly need a reality check #fixit https://t.co/sC9YwrcIu3
— Andrew Pollack (@AndrewPollackFL) April 3, 2019
Broward County deserves professional law enforcement leadership that will safeguard the best interests of the community and work diligently for the protection of life.
For a copy of the letter to the Florida Senate, click here: https://t.co/CeGRnU8292
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) April 4, 2019
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