Editorial Roundup: Florida

South Florida Sun Sentinel. August 25, 2022.

Editorial: DeSantis and Cabinet badly botched FDLE appointment

It’s one of the most important hiring decisions a Florida governor can make, and it happened this week. But nobody noticed (until now), and maybe that was the point.

In what seemed like the blink of an eye — 58 seconds, to be exact — Gov. Ron DeSantis nominated Mark Glass to be permanent executive director of the state’s flagship police agency, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). This critical state job also requires Cabinet approval.

At a meeting Tuesday, all three elected Cabinet members rubber-stamped this questionable move with no discussion or public job interview, and not even a polite thank you from the appointee in the back of the room. The Cabinet spent more time on a Fire Prevention Week resolution. This public-be-damned charade is one more disturbing lack of transparency, even by the lax standards of the DeSantis administration.

It also might be illegal.

Seven years ago, a different governor, Rick Scott, orchestrated the ouster of an FDLE commissioner, Gerald Bailey, with a complete disregard for the Sunshine Law that applies to the Cabinet. Numerous media organizations, including this newspaper, filed a lawsuit, which led to the adoption of modest reforms intended to prevent any more secrecy and political interference in law enforcement.

It may be debatable whether the 2015 settlement applies to a new group of officials, but it’s wrong that nobody raised a peep — not even Nikki Fried, the agriculture commissioner and lone Democrat on the Cabinet. Maybe if they met more often, they would know what they’re doing.

The earlier case is known as the Weidner settlement, named for an attorney for the plaintiffs. It’s on file in state court in Tallahassee, which still has jurisdiction. The settlement, which is online, applies to the offices of governor and Cabinet, and says:

Prior to any vote by the Governor and/or the Cabinet on an appointment, there must be a public, Sunshine-compliant interview of any candidate to be voted on. This interview could be conducted by the Governor and Cabinet themselves at an open meeting or the Governor and Cabinet could delegate this responsibility to a committee … In the case of appointments made by the Governor and Cabinet collectively, multiple candidates could be publicly interviewed. Principals would be free to conduct independent interviews in addition to the public interview contemplated here.

This is no bureaucratic technicality. It’s at the heart of everything wrong with a state government that operates in the shadows.

Jeffrey Mark Glass, 52, was the hand-picked choice by DeSantis in May for this $150,000-a-year job. He replaces Rick Swearingen, Bailey’s successor, who was allowed to retire after a 38-year career at the agency, with no real explanation for his departure.

Glass, a former director of the Capitol Police, was named the acting commissioner in May. No one else was seriously considered. An unknown FDLE employee or employees sent an unsigned letter to Cabinet members, warning that Glass would be a “yes man” for DeSantis and that his…