Originally published Sept. 29, 2019
A top appointee of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis tried to push the mayors of Orlando and Orange County off the board that runs Orlando International Airport, according to records obtained by the Orlando Sentinel.
The failed power play happened in May, during the final week of the Florida Legislature’s annual session, when a last-minute amendment was filed to an obscure piece of legislation dealing with airplane liens.
The amendment would have eventually forced both Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings to give up their seats on the seven-member board that oversees the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, a powerful agency that runs the busiest airport in Florida -- and controls a $4 billion construction budget.
The move appeared specifically targeted at Dyer, who has been on the airport board since 2003, when he was first elected mayor. The amendment was written in such a way that Dyer likely would have been forced to give up his seat after the next city election in November.
Sen. Dennis Baxley, a Republican from Ocala who filed the amendment but then withdrew it after it started to attract scrutiny, has repeatedly declined to answer questions about where he got the idea or with whom he discussed it.
But emails obtained under Florida’s public-records laws show the amendment was sent to Baxley by an aide to one of DeSantis’ top appointees: Halsey Beshears, the secretary of the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, the state agency that licenses businesses and occupations ranging from cosmetologists to veterinarians.
Records show the amendment was emailed to Baxley’s office -- without any accompanying explanation -- by Gabe Peters, the legislative affairs director for DBPR. Baxley filed it, virtually unchanged, less than 24 hours later.
Peters would not say who asked him to send Baxley the amendment. Reached on his cell phone Monday afternoon, Beshears said he had “no idea” why his aide was involved in legislation to change the governing board of an airport authority in Orlando but said he would find out.
On Wednesday morning, Beshears issued a written statement saying the amendment was “solely my idea.”
Read the rest of the story here.
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