Backroom Briefing: Weekly political notes from The News Service of Florida
By Jim Turner ©2025 The News Service of Florida
TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis backed the University of Florida Board of Trustees as it moves forward with a recommendation to hire University of Michigan President Santa Ono as UF’s new leader, amid criticism from some conservatives that the candidate is too “woke.”
During an appearance Wednesday in Tampa, DeSantis said he will “let the process play out” as he trusts the board, which is chaired by his appointee, Mori Hosseini, who heads the home-building giant ICI Homes.
“I will say this, there can be no ambiguity, I don’t think anybody is unclear about what the expectations are in the state of Florida with respect to higher education. We reject woke indoctrination,” DeSantis said.
The university announced Sunday that a search committee recommended that the trustees approve hiring Ono as UF’s next president.
Ono, who has been president of the University of Michigan since 2022, is the lone finalist for the Florida job, which opened last year when Ben Sasse, a former U.S. senator from Nebraska, abruptly stepped down after less than two years on the job.
Kent Fuchs, a former UF president, has served as interim president.
A molecular immunologist, Ono also has served as president and vice chancellor of the University of British Columbia, president of the University of Cincinnati and senior vice provost at Emory University.
Ono, who has a $1.3 million-a-year contract at Michigan, has drawn scrutiny over the school’s decision to end diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, its removal of a pro-Palestinian protest encampment and his lack of response to cuts from the Trump administration.
But some conservatives this week expressed opposition to Ono’s selection by the UF search committee. At least in part, they argued Ono had praised diversity, equity and inclusion in the past.
U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, a Naples Republican who is running for governor next year, appeared on Fox Business News and said the UF presidential search process should be restarted.
“We have been clear about DEI not being a pillar of our educational systems in Florida,” Donalds said in a statement. “It does not comport with the values of the state of Florida.”
Christopher Rufo, a DeSantis appointee to the New College of Florida Board of Trustees, lambasted Ono on X as “a left-wing administrator who recently declared his support for ‘DEI 2.0’ and claimed that ‘the climate crisis is the existential challenge of our time.’”
DeSantis, however, said Florida led the nation in removing DEI programs and that for college administrators a few years ago “it was everywhere. It was the price of admission to be involved in these universities at the time.”
Ono must still get approval from the trustees and the state university system’s Board of Governors. The trustees are scheduled to meet on June 5.
LOBBYING FOCUS
Lobbying often shifts around this time of the year to trying to convince the governor to sign or veto bills that have passed during the legislative session.
But with lawmakers unable to agree on a budget before last week’s scheduled end of the legislative session, they will need to come back to the Capitol for an extension to negotiate a spending plan and related bills.
Kim Dinkins, policy and planning director for 1000 Friends of Florida, said in a message to supporters that the extension has stalled decisions on key programs and policies across the state.
“We are particularly focused on how proposed funding will affect responsible growth management, land conservation efforts, water quality improvements, affordable housing and environmental protection throughout the state,” Dinkins wrote in an email.
Lawmakers are expected to reconvene next week to hash out a budget for the fiscal year that will start July 1. But the end last week of the scheduled session marked the demise of most of the more than 1,770 bills that had been filed. Of those, 250 proposals were approved by both the House and Senate.
As of Thursday morning, DeSantis had signed 19.
Sierra Club Florida and Friends of the Everglades implored supporters to contact the governor’s office to support a bill that would preventthe construction of golf courses, resort-style lodges and sports facilities in state parks. The bill (HB 209) is designed to prevent a repeat of a Department of Environmental Protection proposal, dubbed the “Great Outdoors Initiative,” that was scrapped last year amid massive public opposition.
“We need you to lend your voice one last time to get this bill across the finish line,” Friends of the Everglades wrote.
Sierra Club Florida sent a similar message, thanking lawmakers for passing the bill and advising supporters, “Now it’s our turn: If you haven’t already, make sure to send a message to Governor DeSantis and urge him to sign the bill to protect our parks — for good!”
Asked on Wednesday if he would sign the bill. DeSantis simply responded, “Yes.”
SOCIAL MEDIA POST OF THE WEEK
“Today I was in Miami to support SB 700, which bans local governments from unilaterally adding fluoride to public drinking water. With wide access to topical fluoride, there’s no need to medicate entire communities without their consent. The Free State of Florida says no to forced medication, and we’re proud to lead the nation on this effort!” — Gov. Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis).
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