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Tag: Florida ethics panel

  • Florida Senate declines to confirm Moms for Liberty co-founder to state ethics panel

    Florida Senate declines to confirm Moms for Liberty co-founder to state ethics panel

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    Photo via Tina Descovich/Twitter

    The Florida Senate declined to confirm Moms for Liberty co-founder Tina Descovich’s appointment to the state Commission on Ethics, with Senate President Kathleen Passidomo saying that the procedural move puts Descovich’s confirmation “on hold.”

    Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Descovich to the Florida ethics commission last year, a position which requires Senate confirmation.

    The Senate allows two years for the confirmation process to be completed. A Republican-controlled Senate committee last month forwarded Descovich’s potential confirmation to the full chamber.

    But on Thursday, Descovich was not part of a slate of appointees to the ethics panel. Descovich, a former Brevard County School Board member, became a prominent figure as the conservative group Moms for Liberty has targeted what it characterizes as indoctrination in public schools.

    Descovich also is the chair of the political committee Moms for Liberty Florida, according to the state Division of Elections’ website. Senate leaders voiced concerns that Descovich’s political role could pose a conflict with her role on the ethics panel.

    “There is a concern that Ms. Descovich’s employment could constitute lobbying the Legislature. That issue requires additional review prior to Senate confirmation,” a spokeswoman for Passidomo told the News Service of Florida in an email Thursday.

    Speaking to reporters after the Senate confirmed a swath of appointees that did not include Descovich, Passidomo said Thursday the procedural move would give time for a review of the concerns.

    “When we looked at it, we realized it’s a two-year process. The governor can reappoint her. So we didn’t feel pressure to do anything,” Passidomo, R-Naples, said.

    The Senate president also said that Descovich’s failure to make it onto the appointment-approval list was not related to an ethics complaint against her.

    “Some citizen said he was going to file a (ethics) complaint and politicized our process. And that troubles me because that’s not what we do,” Passidomo said. “So, (we) put it on hold, and if the governor reappoints her, then she’ll come back. It will give us an opportunity to go through the whole process.”

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  • Moms for Liberty co-founder backed for Florida ethics panel, despite heavy opposition

    Moms for Liberty co-founder backed for Florida ethics panel, despite heavy opposition

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    Photo via Tina Descovich/Twitter

    A co-founder of the conservative group Moms for Liberty moved a step closer Monday to being confirmed as a member of the state Commission on Ethics amid heavy opposition from Democrats.

    The Senate Ethics and Elections Committee backed confirmation of Tina Descovich, with all three of the panel’s Democrats dissenting. Descovich, who was tapped for the ethics commission last year, needs confirmation from the full Senate.

    A former Brevard County School Board member, Descovich has become a prominent figure as Moms for Liberty targets what it characterizes as indoctrination in public schools and inappropriate content in school-library books.

    Democrats peppered Descovich with questions Monday, including about her work with Moms for Liberty and connections to high-ranking government officials.

    Sen. Tina Polsky, D-Boca Raton, asked Descovich about potential conflicts of interest.

    “Since Moms for Liberty actively works to support and endorse candidates for office, and the Commission on Ethics is responsible for overseeing the standards of conduct for officers and employees of Florida, do you feel your role both advocating for and monitoring elected officials is a conflict of interest?” Polsky asked.

    Descovich denied that a conflict would exist.

    “I do not feel like it’s a conflict of interest. We are structured in a way that our chapters individually, they’re the ones that do the endorsing, in their local community, of school board candidates only. My position as executive director and co-founder of Moms for Liberty, does not get involved, does not approve or deny their endorsements,” Descovich said.

    Under questioning from Polsky, Descovich also confirmed that she attended a meeting last year with DeSantis and state Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. that dealt with the governor backing school-board candidates.

    Descovich said officials were “seeking some of our counsel from Moms for Liberty as a whole and what we were looking for in candidates,” but denied that she played a factor in the governor’s choices.

    DeSantis in recent years has endorsed numerous conservative school-board candidates, many of whom have gone on to win elections. Sen. Debbie Mayfield, an Indialantic Republican whose district includes part of Brevard County, defended Descovich.

    “If there’s anyone that can serve in both capacities and do it well, and separate the two out at the same time, it’s Tina,” Mayfield said.

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