DeSantis names Republican ally to succeed Miami-Dade's longtime Democratic clerk

[In It to Win It]

Miami Herald

Archived: https://archive.ph/dYnQz

Gov. Ron DeSantis named a Republican ally to the position of Miami-Dade County clerk on Friday, appointing Rep. Juan Fernandez-Barquin to administer the court system and oversee the county’s finances ahead of the 2024 elections.

The appointment of Fernandez-Barquin, 40, and a married lawyer from Kendall, comes five months after the death of Miami-Dade’s longtime Democratic clerk, Harvey Ruvin.

Privately, Fernandez-Barquin has told associates he’s eager to expand the public role of clerk and assume the financial powers exercised by clerks in other Florida counties. In announcing his appointment, DeSantis said he was naming Fernandez-Barquin to be “Clerk of the Court and Comptroller of Miami-Dade County.”

While best known for running the offices that process parking tickets, divorce filings and real estate deeds, the clerk also has a central financial role in county government. The clerk’s signature appears on county paychecks, and Florida law gives clerks auditing power and other financial duties that Ruvin largely ceded to the county mayor.

[jimfields33]

1. I certainly Hope Governor Hobbs and other blue governors in red states do the same.

I bet they do put in democratic supporters in place of repugs when the situation arises. Isn’t that routine?

[sinkingfeeling]

2. Why is a governor appointing someone to county office?