Former Florida Senate President Don Gaetz opposes the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s proposal to build golf courses and hotels in state parks. He questions the ethics behind the idea.
“Years ago, U.S Sen. Bill Proxmire gave out Golden Fleece Awards for the dumbest ideas that government could come up with and fund,” Gaetz said. “If Sen. Proxmire was still in office today, this would be a candidate. This was a dumb government trick.”
Gaetz also questioned the foundation behind at least one golf course proposal.
“My daddy taught me to follow the money, and when you do a bit of digging and find out that there was a group nobody’s ever heard of before called the ‘Tuskegee Dunes Foundation,'” he said on “Real News with Rick Outzen” this morning.
“They were apparently involved in this, and a former Department of Environmental Protection secretary, Ryan Matthews, was involved with the Tuskegee Dunes Foundation and as a lobbyist in Tallahassee. Sooner or later, you have to wonder who would make money out of these hotels?”
Gov. Ron DeSantis pulling back the proposal was good news for Gaetz. He said, “It is an example of what happens when you have a former agency head working with his old pals and former subordinates in an agency on something that, when you get it out in the clear light of day, is really a bad idea. And it reflects poorly on the governor. I’m pleased the governor pulled the plug, and I take him at his word that this is a dead duck now.”
Gaetz joked, “I would imagine somebody in DEP is having a career counseling session in the governor’s office.”
