Florida Senate won't confirm Moms for Liberty co-founder to ethics board

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida Senate won’t be confirming Gov. Ron DeSantis’ choice of Moms for Liberty co-founder Tina Descovich for the Commission on Ethics this year, marking the second time since August that an ethics appointee of the governor has run into potential ethical problems.

The ethics board nominees all were recommended for approval by the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee last week along party lines. But Descovich was removed from that list after an ethics complaint filed by a Melbourne political consultant suggested her role with Moms for Liberty amounted to lobbying.

The commission prohibits its members from lobbying state or local governments.

“There was a concern raised … (that) Ms. Descovich’s employment could constitute lobbying the Legislature,” said Katie Betta, deputy chief of staff for communications at the Senate President’s office. “That issue requires additional review prior to Senate confirmation.”

Even so, Descovich can remain on the ethics board until lawmakers meet again in session, currently scheduled for next spring.

Glen Gilzean resigned as chairman of the ethics commission in August, more than five months after starting a $400,000-a-year job managing Disney World’s formerly named Reedy Creek Special Improvement District. He quit after news media reports about a state law that says ethics commissioners could not be public employees.

“In the span of less than a year, the governor’s appointments to the ethics commission have starkly contravened the commission’s two cardinal prohibitions,” said Robert Burns III, the consultant and online publisher who filed the ethics complaint against Descovich. “First, the chair was compelled to resign for holding public office, and now, the chair’s successor faces allegations of lobbying.”

Descovich was appointed by DeSantis in September to replace Gilzean.

A spokesman for DeSantis said the governor stands behind Descovich, whose Moms of Liberty group has become a national voice against LGBTQ rights and for book banning in public schools.

“The governor will reappoint Tina Descovich as soon as she is eligible for reappointment if she is not confirmed by the Senate,” said Bryan Griffin, communications director for DeSantis, in an email.

Burns initially sent an email to all members of the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee before the vote on Descovich, saying her appointment raises “unavoidable concerns of conflict of interest, given the nature of her organization’s activities within the political landscape of Florida.”

Moms for Liberty has endorsed and financed political candidates throughout the state, he said, “directly assisting in their campaigns, and even receiving financial contributions from political and elected officials.”

Democrats voiced their concerns during committee deliberations on Descovich’s appointment.

“I was concerned she was too political and too involved in her work to be on the Ethics Commission,” said Democratic Sen. Tina Polsky in an interview Thursday. “The ethics complaint was new to me. I didn’t know about the lobbyist issue.”

At the hearing, Descovich defended her work with Moms for Liberty and her ability to remain impartial.

“The work that I do with the organization that I founded and as the executive director is independent and separate from the role on the ethics commission,” Descovich said. “This is a position that is important to hold elected leaders accountable. And I think that is the most important role in the state of Florida right now.”

In his complaint, Burns notes that Descovich was paid $50,000 a year as co-founder and executive director to represent “the organization in its efforts to influence educational policies through legislative means.”

That fits the definition of a lobbyist as someone who is paid to lobby on behalf of another person or entity, Burns said.

“Given that Moms for Liberty’s activities involve advocating for specific legislative outcomes … and Descovich is compensated for her role in these efforts, it positions her within the framework of a lobbyist,” he said.

Former state Rep. Joe Harding credited Moms for Liberty’s support in getting approval of Florida’s Parental Bill of Rights law, otherwise known by its opponents as “don’t say gay,” in 2022.

The group supported DeSantis’ bill giving parents more power to object to books and other instructional materials, which has led to book bans in Florida public schools.

The organization has also been involved in raising curriculum complaints, especially about critical race theory, and supported efforts to water down protections of the LGBTQ community and gender-affirming care, Burns said in his complaint.

Burns also raised concerns about potentially compromising political donations to Moms for Liberty.

For example, GOP Rep. Randy Fine gave $2,000 to Moms for Liberty. He has an open case before the ethics commission, Burns said.

Last April, the ethics commission found probable cause that Fine abused his position as an elected official by threatening to withhold Special Olympics funding amid a “personal feud” with Brevard County School Board member Jennifer Jenkins.

Jenkins beat Descovich in a hotly contested school board race in 2020 and became one of 14 school board members on a list that DeSantis had targeted for defeat for being too liberal. Moms for Liberty was at the center of recruiting and financing school board members to run against the incumbents being targeted.

Descovich said during her confirmation hearing she saw no reason to recuse herself if Fine came before the commission.

“It is one of my greatest honors to be a Governor’s appointee to the Florida Ethics Commission,” Descovich posted on her X account Thursday. “I respect the decision of the Senate to wait until next session and I will continue to provide any information they may need from me as a part of the confirmation process.”