In reviewing the events of the past week, it is clear that Gov. Ron DeSantis and his minions want to get rid of University of West Florida President Martha Saunders. They set up a series of announcements, articles and appointments to establish the pretext for the ambush at the Board of Trustees meeting on Thursday.
- Background: Saunders’ employment was most recently renewed for a one-year term beginning January 1, 2025, and ending December 31, 2025. This extension was approved following a proposal to extend her contract for an additional year beyond the previous term, which ran from January 1, 2024, to December 31, 2024. Read Summary-for-Saunders-President-Contract-2025-final-ADA
WHAT IF
- During the rainstorm, I wrote a fictional short story imagining how Walker Holmes, the publisher of the Pensacola Insider would have covered what transpired last week. I included Don Gaetz, who is a big fan of the Walker Holmes thrillers, in the tale, but the conversations with him and Saunders in the story NEVER TOOK PLACE. IT’S PURE MAKE BELIEVE.
THE PLOT TO FIRE SAUNDERS – A WALKER HOLMES MYSTERY
The sun slid behind the Pensacola skyline like a gambler ducking out on his tab. Walker Holmes sat at his desk in the Pensacola Insider office, squinting at the Four Roses in his glass as if it might contain the answers he sought. It didn’t. The truth was more likely buried in the stack of documents that his source had slipped under his door at dawn.
The corner of his mouth twitched. Five days of blog posts from Rick Outzen, one of his rivals in town. Normally, Holmes wouldn’t give Outzen’s work a second glance, but these posts outlined something that stank worse than week-old mullet in July.
His phone buzzed. The display read “Unknown Caller.”
“Holmes,” he answered.
“Did you get what I sent?” The voice was familiar but deliberately muffled.
“I’m looking at it now. Outzen’s been busy.”
“It’s not about Outzen. It’s about what’s in the posts. They’re setting her up.”
“Who?”
“Saunders. The president of UWF. Governor DeSantis is orchestrating the whole thing. Read between the lines, Holmes.”
The line went dead. Holmes tossed the phone onto his desk and leaned back in his chair, the worn leather creaking like an old confession. He picked up the first page of Outzen’s posts dated May 5th.
Three hours and two fingers of bourbon later, Holmes had the picture. A nasty one, with all the subtlety of a blackjack to the skull.
First came the “gotcha moment” – Florida’s Department of Governmental Efficiency, the governor’s pet project with the ridiculous acronym DOGE, had “discovered” a National Science Foundation grant at UWF that supposedly promoted social justice in STEM education. The governor demanded $800,000 be returned to the feds.
The next day, UWF had clarified that while the grant’s title mentioned social justice, the actual implementation had nothing to do with it. The students were doing water quality sampling and aspirin synthesis projects. Nothing remotely political.
But the damage was done. The same day, DeSantis appointed Zachary Smith to the UWF Board of Trustees – a Heritage Foundation legal fellow who had written about “the harms caused by diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.” The guy who’d been working on Project 2025.
Holmes scribbled on his notepad: “Smith – just confirmed for PSC board last week – now moved to UWF. Why?”
The answer came two days later in Outzen’s May 8th post. An ambush.
At a special board meeting, Smith and other new trustees had gone after President Saunders like she was a witness on a hostile cross-examination. Questioning her about drag shows, demanding to know her personal feelings on DEI, digging into past programming. One trustee even called out Smith for the ambush.
The picture was clear as gin. The governor was building a case to fire Saunders. First the DOGE “investigation,” then stacking the board with ideologues, now the public interrogation to create a paper trail.
Holmes pushed away from his desk and grabbed his jacket. The university was only twenty minutes away. Time to see who else might be willing to talk.
The campus was quiet, caught in that lull between spring semester and summer sessions. Holmes found Dr. Bones McKay, in his office, packing books into a cardboard box.
“Going somewhere?” Holmes asked, leaning against the doorframe.
McKay looked up, startled. “Just reorganizing. Who are you?”
Holmes introduced himself, watched McKay’s face tighten.
“I don’t talk to the press. Especially not now.”
“That’s what people say when there’s something worth talking about.”
McKay set down a book and sighed. “Look, I’ve got a family to support and a career to protect. You’ve seen what happened at New College.”
“So it’s true then. DeSantis is gunning for Saunders.”
McKay didn’t answer, which was answer enough.
“The NSF grant was just a pretext,” Holmes said. “And Smith’s appointment was strategic. He comes in with a file full of gotcha questions, gets it all in the record.”
“You don’t need me to confirm what you already know,” McKay said.
“What I need is to understand why. UWF’s metrics are strong. Six perfect scores in critical areas. Ranked high in the state system. Employment rates, wages, academic progress all trending up. So why target Saunders?”
McKay glanced at the door, then lowered his voice. “Have you considered that maybe success is exactly what makes us a target? The governor’s narrative is that universities run by ‘woke’ administrators are failing. But what if they’re not? What if they’re actually excelling by every metric the state itself has established?”
Holmes nodded slowly. “So Saunders has to go because she’s proof the narrative is wrong.”
“I didn’t say that,” McKay said quickly. “But I will tell you this – watch for more appointments. The governor still has two more trustees to name.”
Back in his car, Holmes checked his messages. Three missed calls from the same unknown number. He dialed back.
“You figured it out yet?” The voice was clearer now. Female. Familiar.
“Bootsie Jones?” Holmes ventured.
“No comment on that. But I will tell you that if you’re looking for the real story, you need to talk to Senator Gaetz. He told PNJ this thing is ‘far from over.'”
“Why would Gaetz help? He’s a Republican like DeSantis.”
“Not all Republicans march in lockstep, Holmes. Some of them actually care about their districts. Northwest Florida fought hard to save UWF from those first three appointments. Gaetz chaired the committee that rejected them.”
“And now DeSantis is retaliating. Using Smith as his hatchet man.”
“Like I said. Talk to Gaetz.”
Senator Gaetz agreed to meet at a diner in Gulf Breeze, halfway between Pensacola and his district. He was already seated in a back booth when Holmes arrived, stirring cream into coffee thick as crude oil.
“I don’t have much time,” Gaetz said.
“Neither does President Saunders, from what I gather.”
Gaetz’s expression didn’t change. “What do you want to know?”
“Is Governor DeSantis building a case to fire Martha Saunders?”
“I’m not privy to the governor’s intentions.”
“Cut the crap, Senator. You told Outzen the UWF story is ‘far from over.’ What did you mean?”
Gaetz sipped his coffee, grimaced. “The governor doesn’t like to lose. The Senate rejected his first three appointees to UWF’s board. That’s unprecedented. He’s not going to let that go.”
“So Smith is his revenge?”
“Smith is just the first. There will be two more. And once they’re in place…”
“They’ll have the votes to remove Saunders.”
Gaetz shrugged. “Universities serve at the pleasure of their boards. Boards serve at the pleasure of the governor.”
“Even if the university is performing well by every metric?”
“Especially then,” Gaetz said. “Success is threatening to certain ideologues. It undermines their premise that higher education is broken and needs to be dismantled.”
“Why are you telling me this? You’re not exactly a liberal crusader.”
Gaetz laughed. “No, I’m not. But I am a Northwest Florida man. And I don’t like seeing my region’s institutions used as political pawns in someone else’s game.” He slid a folder across the table. “You didn’t get this from me.”
Holmes opened it to find meeting minutes, emails, text messages – evidence of coordination between the governor’s office, the Heritage Foundation, and certain trustees.
“This is the roadmap,” Gaetz said. “They’re going to claim financial mismanagement, ideological indoctrination, and failure to comply with state law, specifically SB 266. None of it’s true, but truth isn’t the point.”
“And the point is?”
“Control. Making an example. Showing other university presidents what happens if they don’t fall in line.”
Holmes tucked the folder into his jacket. “Why help me break this story? Why not Outzen or PNJ?”
“Because you’re the one sitting across from me right now,” Gaetz said, standing up and dropping a five on the table. “And because sometimes you need an outsider to see what’s really happening.”
Back at his office, Holmes spread the documents across his desk. The pieces fit together like a well-planned crime. The “gotcha moment” with the NSF grant had been orchestrated months in advance. The special board meeting where Smith ambushed Saunders had been scripted, with questions provided by the governor’s office.
And there was more – plans for the next two appointees, already selected. A timeline for Saunders’ removal. Even a short list of replacement candidates, all with ties to the Heritage Foundation or Project 2025.
Holmes started typing. The headline came easy:
“THE AMBUSH: DOCUMENTS REVEAL DESANTIS PLOT TO PURGE UWF PRESIDENT”
The story poured out of him, fast and hard as summer rain. When he finished, Holmes reached for his phone and dialed.
“President Saunders? Walker Holmes, Pensacola Insider. We need to talk.”
There was a pause on the other end of the line.
“Mr. Holmes, I’ve been expecting your call. I think it’s time we had a conversation about the future of higher education in Florida.”
The clock on his desk read 11:47 PM. The night was young, and the truth was just beginning to surface – like a body that refuses to stay submerged.
Tomorrow’s edition of the Pensacola Insider would hit like a hurricane. And in Tallahassee, the governor’s office would be scrambling to explain documents they never thought would see the light of day.
Holmes smiled. Sometimes the best disinfectant wasn’t sunshine. Sometimes it was good old-fashioned ink.