SFWMD: Brian Mast blasts board members who won't resign as Gov. Ron DeSantis asked

Four South Florida Water Management District board members have said they will not resign after Gov. Ron DeSantis asked all eight of them to step down Thursday.

Vice Chair Brandon Tucker of Palm City and board members Sam Accursio, Jaime Weisinger and Jim Moran have said they won't resign. TCPalm is polling all board members and will update this story as they respond.

More:DeSantis asks SFWMD board members to resign

Board Chairman Federico Fernandez reportedly told the Miami Herald he did not think DeSantis could remove any board members before their terms expired, but Florida law appears to give the governor that authority.

"The governor shall have authority to remove from office any officer of said (water management) district in the manner and for cause defined by the laws of this state applicable to situations which may arise in said district," the statute says.

Senate President Bill Galvano's office Friday was researching if the Senate had a role to play in removing the boards members, spokeswoman Katie Betta said.

U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, R-Palm City, who recommended the resignations as chair of DeSantis' environmental advisory committee, blasted the board Friday.

“The arrogance displayed over the past 24 hours by the board is indicative of how they have operated for the better part of the last decade — without transparency and with disdain for the people of South Florida who have been made to suffer through lost summer after lost summer," Mast said in a news release. "They have failed to exercise even the most basic, legally required level of transparency and, therefore, should be removed for cause.”

Sugar land lease

The most controversial "cause" Mast referred to was a Nov. 8 board vote to lease land needed for the EAA reservoir to curb Lake Okeechobee discharges to Florida Crystals subsidiary New Hope Sugar Co. while the project is being built.

The item was added to the board's agenda the night before the 9:30 a.m. meeting.

More: Enviros urge SFWMD to cancel sugar land lease

Mast told board members at that meeting he and DeSantis, who had been elected but not yet sworn in, wanted to be briefed on the lease before its approval "to make sure we're not adding additional hurdles to the project."

The board approved the lease anyway, with district officials saying immediate action was needed so preliminary work could begin during the current winter dry season.

Board members will not resign

Former Gov. Rick Scott appointed all nine SFWMD board members. 

Accursio, whose term ends in March, told TCPalm Friday that removing board members who have expertise about the area's water issues will delay water projects.

"I think the steps that were taken may slow the wheel down," Accursio said of DeSantis calling for board resignations. "Now we have nine people, possibly, who will have to learn the whole system immediately without having knowledge of the men and women who have been in these positions for years." 

Tucker, whose term ends in two years, told TCPalm Thursday he "made a commitment to serve out my term," adding he hadn't "had an opportunity to meet with the governor and his staff and tell them about the issues and my positions on them." 

Moran, whose term ends in March, told the Palm Beach Post Thursday he won't resign. 

“We don’t serve at the pleasure of the governor,” Moran was quoted as saying. “If he thinks we serve at his pleasure, he is misinformed.”

Weisinger, whose term ends in 2021, told the Fort Myers News-Press it's too early for his tenure to end. 

"I think there's a lot more that needs to get done and I made a commitment to Scott and the state," Weisinger said. "I'm not comfortable leaving at this point because I'd like to see these projects completed." 

Fernandez reportedly would not comment on his plans to the Miami Herald. 

The Senate has not confirmed board member Carlos Diaz, who could not be reached for comment on his plans. DeSantis could pull his appointment, as he has done for more than 80 appointments Scott made during the last week of his term.

Former Vice Chair Melanie Peterson, a Palm Beach County Realtor, resigned effective Jan. 1, saying she needed to focus on her business.

DeSantis' letter asking board members to resign effective immediately said "it is time for a clean reset of the leadership ... to focus the appropriate attention" on the water policy he announced Thursday during visits to Stuart, Sarasota and Bonita Springs.