Further proof that Florida is no meritocracy is the political patronage appointment of this rough beast to a position of trust and responsibility.
For a good time, reach "To the Victor" by Martin & Susan Tolchin, about political patronage.
Fun fact: U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Operations Labor and Human Resources manager, Patricia Howse-Smith, once candidly answered my question, "Is Oak Ridge a meritocracy?" She truthfully answered me and said "No". Neither is the State of Florida under one-party rebarbative rule.
From POLITICO:
Matt Gaetz announces he’s ‘returning to public service’ on Florida nonprofit board
The scandal-ridden former representative was tapped by the Florida House speaker to help steer an organization doling out recovery funds from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) speaks with reporters outside the U.S. Capitol after he triggered a motion to remove Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) from his position as speaker of the House on Oct 2, 2023. | Francis Chung/POLITICO
Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) said he’s “returning to public service” — this time as a board member of a state-created nonprofit.
Gaetz announced Tuesday on X that he had been tapped by state House Speaker Daniel Perez to sit on the board of Triumph Gulf Coast, an organization created to disburse recovery funds collected in the aftermath of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Gaetz will serve on the board for a four-year term beginning July 1 through June 30, 2030, according to the letter from Perez included in Gaetz’s post.
The appointment would be Gaetz’s first step into public service since his nomination to serve as President Donald Trump’s attorney general flopped amid a House Ethics probe.
The report that investigation yielded — released after Gaetz resigned from Congress in November 2024 — alleged that the Florida Republican committed statutory rape, solicited prostitution and used illegal drugs.
Gaetz has denied the allegations.
During his nearly two-year hiatus from elected office, Gaetz hosted a show on the pro-Trump network One America News Network and had a son with his wife, Ginger.
On the Triumph Gulf Coast board, Gaetz would be responsible for overseeing the administering of 75 percent of the $2 billion that British Petroleum has been paying the state since 2016 as part of a settlement agreement between the two parties. Those payments, just over $100 million each year, are expected to continue through 2033.
The cash is meant to be directed to the eight Northwest Florida counties that were most affected by the oil spill, according to the organization’s website.
The group was created in 2013 through the state Legislature, with Gaetz’s father, then-state Senate President Don Gaetz, as a supporter. The elder Gaetz chaired the organization from 2018 to 2022, after the nonprofit was formally incorporated and the first payment from BP was received.
“I look forward to the work ahead as we continue improving the lives of Northwest Floridians,” Matt Gaetz wrote Tuesday.
Gary Fineout contributed to this report.
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