When I worked in Atlanta, Georgia, lawmakers were revising the state’s laws on open meetings and public records—what we here in Florida call “government in the sun”—and some fellow Capitol reporters thought that I was just bragging about the laws of my home state. traditions of open government.
Oh yeah, my ink-stained colleagues would scoff, you can just go to a House committee meeting or read some correspondence in the governor’s office and they’ll just show you everything. Yes, then you would have us believe that they even post announcements of meeting times and hand out agendas of what needs to be discussed.
These seemed alien, vaguely threatening ideas from a time when Georgia was still shaking off some of its Old South ways. But what I saw were some deep-seated differences in attitudes. In Tallahassee, public affairs were the public’s business and free access was assumed, while politicians in much of the South jealously guarded their decision-making power behind closed doors.
Government Ron DeSantis and the conservative Republicans running Florida’s government seem to be longing for the era when a few bosses known as “pig carpers” could distribute the swag privately.
There is a case pending in the 1st District Court of Appeal challenging the secrecy of DeSantis’ judicial selection method. Stripped of all its constitutional and statutory considerations, the matter became between the governor and a citizen identified only as “J. Doe” is whether DeSantis can exercise executive privilege to clearly withhold public information just because he feels like it.
It started nearly two years ago when DeSantis told conservative commentator Hugh Hewitt that he has a bevy of “six or seven pretty big legal conservative heavyweights” screening potential Supreme Court justices. Plaintiff Doe tried to find out who was a member of this brain trust, but the governor’s office rejected his investigation, citing a new legal doctrine of “I won’t and you can’t force me.”
That was good enough for Leon County Circuit Judge Angela Dempsey. Her ruling in support of DeSantis has been appealed, with Attorney General Ashley Moody representing the governor. She certainly does not represent the people of Florida, who elected her to sit next to DeSantis during Cabinet meetings, but not to spit seeds while he eats watermelon.
We used to have attorneys general like Bob Shevin, Jim Smith and Bob Butterworth who believed that the public’s right to know meant more than the governor’s right to make things up.
But if you’re hoping to succeed this governor, as Moody appears to be, it’s best not to bother DeSantis with finicky little details like laws.
This is just one of the few sunshine disputes that DeSantis seems to be enjoying. His operating principle seems to be that the people of Florida have a right to hear what he wants to reveal during his taxpayer-funded public appearances in four or five cities a week, to see what press releases his staff issues at government expense and then applaud while waving. , smiles and says, “Thanks, have a nice day” as he leaves an event.
If the appeals court reverses Dempsey and says Doe can see the correspondence between the governor and the advisers, DeSantis will simply appeal to the Florida Supreme Court — which happens to be full of judges he appointed, on the advice of that ‘major legal conservative heavyweights. ” If the appeals court sides with DeSantis, a group of open government advocates (including some of the state’s major news media) will pursue the appeal.
This is a shame all around. The news media is struggling and shouldn’t be spending tens of thousands of dollars litigating these types of cases. The courts need no more shame at a time when Donald Trump is pursuing a divine right of presidential supremacy in the nation’s highest tribunal — one member of which was just caught with an upside-down flag in his yard.
And how does this benefit DeSantis and the state government? Some confidentiality is normal in any large business, but what harm could befall the republic if we find out who are the learned counselors whom the governor consults in choosing judges?
Executive privilege encourages free discussion between the governor and his top aides about people, events, and issues that affect our lives. If there’s an email or phone note that says, “Don’t mention that guy, he can hide his own Easter eggs,” or maybe, “She supported Charlie Crist in 2014 so we don’t want her,” then that’s a A bit difficult, but everyone will get over it.
Executive privilege didn’t work for Richard Nixon when he tried to hide his criminality. It’s too high a price for the public to pay just to protect Ron DeSantis’ petty, petulant desire to get his way.
Bill Cotterell is a retired Capitol reporter for United Press International and the Tallahassee Democrat. He writes a weekly column for The News Service of Florida and City & State Florida. He can be reached at wrcott43@aol.com.
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Bill Cotterell: Dark clouds in the Sunshine State
