Weaponized Bureaucrats Part 8
The Chief Executive Officer of Chaos and Confusion
Catch up on Weaponized Bureaucrats Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 and Anonymous Cries for Help. If your time is short, allow me to recap. In one sentence.
When you elect people who hate government to run government, you get a shitty government.
Clearly, that is what Florida has done, and clearly, Ron DeSantis has no interest in being the CEO of the State of Florida. Unlike Congress or your local Mayor, Governors have the additional responsibility of running a massive, complex organization. States are unlike any other organization. The State is responsible for direct service delivery and compliance. They have awesome financial responsibility that, if not handled properly, can crumble thousands of small businesses - both for and not-for-profit. Governors can quite literally impact the health and wealth of every resident of their state and every visitor to their state. Governor DeSantis doesn’t even pretend to be interested in that responsibility.
As Governor, Ron DeSantis is responsible for leading 166,000 state employees. To achieve the mission of the State of Florida, the Governor gets to hire, fire, delegate, and reorganize. All of which he’s done. But he is also responsible for protecting the State from risk - legal and financial. Read the work of Jason Garcia and Judd Legume to see the plethora of ways he has failed to do that. Just as importantly, as CEO, he is responsible for fostering a collaborative environment where employees feel valued and empowered. Admittedly, with 166,000 employees, the Governor can’t do that alone. That’s where smart hiring (or, in this case, appointing) decisions come into play. Ron has repeatedly chosen to appoint un or underqualified people to fulfill key leadership roles and Florida’s public servants have paid the price. So, too, have the companies that do business on behalf of the state. But, ultimately, it’s the residents that take it on the chin. Almost always, it’s the ones who can’t punch back.
Cronyism Creates Chaos
Florida Department of Children and Families
“Statistics show key state agencies have been operating with 1 in 4 jobs unfilled, as workers lament constant turnover.” Lawrence Mower, Journalist, Tampa Bay Times, June 13, 2023.
“New Florida website for Medicaid, food assistance hit with early problems” Christopher O’Donnell, Journalist, Tampa Bay Times, December 8, 2023.
“Florida’s Department of Children and Families (DCF) is in the hot seat after the agency’s child abuse hotline logged wait times of nearly an hour, prompting nearly half of all callers to abandon their attempts to report abuse.” Brian Burgess, Journalist, The Capitolist, December 17, 2023.
Florida Department of Education
“Federal prosecutors in Gainesville have requested scores of documents — including correspondence between school officials, charter school lobbyists and former top leaders in DeSantis’ education department — surrounding a long-running Jefferson County School District saga that sparked the resignation of a high-ranking Florida Department of Education staffer and former state Board of Education chair, according to a subpoena first reported by the Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times.” Andrew Atterbury, Journalist, Politico, August 7, 2023.
“Florida’s new edicts on schools keep changing, and locals are confused - School districts say they want to enforce the laws but often get unclear guidance from the Department of Education.” Jeffrey Solochek, Journalist, Tampa Bay Times, September 13, 2023.
“State Laws Restricting Curriculum, Pronoun Use Cause Confusion and Chaos in Schools.” Libby Stanford and Ileana Najarro, Journalists Education Week, September 21, 2023.
Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration
“The state agencies have known since 2018 that the notices were confusing but have continued to use them, leaving many without coverage for critical care, prescriptions, vaccinations and postpartum care, Sarah Grusin, an attorney for the National Health Law Program, said in a statement.” AP News, August 22, 2023.
“In April of 2022, a Leon County Circuit Judge upheld the law, meaning clinics now had to comply. However, many of the abortion clinics across the state told WPTV that AHCA, who regulates these laws, never told them about the change.” Kate Hussey, Journalist, WPTV, October 12, 2023.
“The information had been missing from the website that helps people vet nursing homes, the Times found.” Tampa Bay Times, Hannah Crinchfield, April 19, 2023.
Florida Department of Juvenile Justice
“The Florida Department of Juvenile Justice reported that 44 percent more kids were arrested on weapons or firearms charges in the year leading up to July 2022 compared to the previous year.” Stephanie Colombini, Journalist, WLRN, December 12, 2023.
“The suit challenges the DJJ’s policy in 21 state-operated secure detention facilities of isolating children in solitary confinement for “minor misbehavior” and failing to provide them access to school services, recreation or appropriate mental health services.” Mith Perry, Journalist, Florida Phoenix, September 5, 2019
“Florida’s Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) announced on Monday that it selected Florida Virtual School (FLVS) as the operating service provider for the Florida Scholars Academy (FSA), a system providing in-person instruction for incarcerated youths.” Caden DeLisa, Journalist, The Capitolist, October 23, 2023
Despite data breaches, lawsuits, lay-off’s, and “turmoil, controversies, investigations and allegations of mismanagement.”
Florida Department of Health
“Federal health officials and other experts have repeatedly sought to counter erroneous comments about the vaccines by Dr. Joseph Ladapo, Florida’s surgeon general.” Apoorva Mandavilli, Journalist, New York Times, January 3, 2024.
“After two years of denying that detailed COVID-19 data relating to 2021 infections and vaccines existed, and then being forced by a court to turn it over, Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Department of Health have agreed to a settlement that will require the state to disclose coronavirus data on its web site and pay attorneys fees for attempting to circumvent state public records law.” Mary Ellen Klass, Bureau Chief, Miami Herald, October 9, 2023.
“In the spring, she moved to Naples, set up a new company, and on July 22 received a Florida medical license. She’s not practicing yet, though. That’s because she’s been in prison since July 26, serving a 60-day sentence at the Federal Detention Center in Miami imposed after she pleaded guilty to trespassing into a restricted building -- the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 last year.” Carol Gentry, Journalist, WFSU, August 18, 2022.
These are the five agencies with the most responsibility for children in the State of Florida
All but two of these articles were published in the last six months, and there are ten more state agencies not even listed here. The truth is we elect people for their ability to brand, market, and sell themself. We don’t dig deeper. We don’t ask - Would I want this person in charge of my company? Would I want to work with them?
In the words of Scott Maxwell, Columnist, Orlando Sentinel -
If We Want Different Results, We Must Elect Different People.
