Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday appointed a co-founder of the group Moms for Liberty and a South Florida-based attorney to seats on the Florida Commission on Ethics, replacing the board’s former chairman and a member whose term expired.
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Tina Descovich, a former Brevard County School Board member who helped found the prominent conservative group Moms for Liberty, said in a statement that she was “honored” to be named to “this important statewide commission.”
“The Florida ethics commission is charged with serving as the guardian of the standards of conduct for public officers and employees as well as safeguarding public trust. It will be a privilege to serve the state I love as a member of this commission,” Descovich said.
DeSantis spoke at Moms For Liberty “summit” events in Tampa and Philadelphia in 2022 and 2023, respectively, and was a guest on the group’s “Joyful Warriors” podcast in July, where he discussed his campaign for president.
“I think moms are the key political force for this 2024 cycle,” DeSantis said in his address to attendees during the event.
Moms for Liberty has been involved in various controversies regarding the removal or review of books in schools. The group claims to be working towards preventing children from accessing adult-themed books and materials, while some critics have accused them of advocating for book banning and targeting LGBTQ+ topics.
Democrats immediately objected to Descovich’s appointment to the ethics commission.
Jennifer Jenkins, a member of the Brevard County School Board, criticized the governor’s choice while appearing with Democratic Party officials in July 2022, during the same weekend as the Moms for Liberty summit in Tampa.
“Qualifications include: losing an incumbent school board seat & creating a nationally recognized hate group,” Jenkins said in a tweet, referring to the Southern Poverty Law Center labeling Moms for Liberty as an “antigovernment organization.”
Qualifications include: losing an incumbent school board seat & creating a nationally recognized hate group. https://t.co/bG1PDFqkCl
— Jennifer Jenkins (@JenkinsBrevard) September 6, 2023
The group has been labeled an “extremist” organization by the Southern Poverty Law Center for allegedly harassing community members, advancing anti-LGBTQ+ misinformation, and fighting to scrub diverse and inclusive material from lesson plans.
Moms for Liberty is “exploring every legal option” to “hold the SPLC (Southern Poverty Law Center) accountable,” Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice told The Wall Street Journal in a recent interview.
Luis Fuste, a founding partner at Fuste Law, PA, is another appointee to the ethics commission by DeSantis. According to the firm’s website, Fuste specializes in representing labor organizations, employees, and small-to-medium-sized businesses. He has also served as a legal unit member for the Miami-Dade Police Department and as an assistant general counsel for the South Florida Police Benevolent Association.
Fuste in January also was appointed by DeSantis to the state Board of Chiropractic Medicine.
The ethics commission appointments ultimately will need approval from the Florida Senate.
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Former commission Chairman Glen Gilzean resigned from the role on August 22.
Gilzean currently serves as the administrator of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, which now covers Walt Disney World properties. His annual salary for this role is $400,000. Gilzean chose to step down from his unpaid position on the ethics panel after a commission lawyer advised that holding both roles at the same time would violate state law.
The other open commission seat had been held by Jim Waldman, a former Democratic state lawmaker from Coconut Creek. Waldman’s term on the commission expired in June, but he continued serving until a replacement was named.
According to a spokesperson for the ethics commission, Descovich and Fuste are now members of the board. They joined just two days prior to a significant meeting where the commission will discuss the possibility of dismissing an ethics complaint against former state senator Sen. Jack Latvala (R Clearwater).
The ethics commission in 2018 launched a probe of Latvala after allegations of sexual harassment. Latvala has fought the allegations.
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