DeSantis likely to pass on appointment as District 2 Leon County Commission race heats up

Hannah Crow, left, and Christian Caban are meeting in a run-off for Leon County Commission, District 2.

Though Gov. Ron DeSantis hasn’t publicly said one way or the other, few if anyone expect him to appoint someone to the Leon County Commission District 2 seat left vacant by the death of Commissioner Jimbo Jackson.

Jackson, 55, a longtime educator who served as principal of Fort Braden School, died May 28 of complications from long COVID. His death, which came in the middle of his second term, opened the door for the governor to appoint someone to serve temporarily until after the general election.

The open seat prompted seven people — four Democrats and three Republicans — to run for the nonpartisan post. And while a few of them applied to fill the vacancy after Jackson’s death, none of them ever heard back from the Governor’s Office.

Read more: Leon County Commissioner and Fort Braden School Principal Jimbo Jackson dies from COVID complications

COVID-19 in Leon County: Cases and hospitalizations continue monthslong drop

Many of the candidates and others assume DeSantis simply decided to let the election play out without an appointment.

“He’s going to sit this one out I’m told,” said Evan Power, chairman of the Leon County Republican Party.

Voters in the Aug. 23 primary whittled down the crowded field to two candidates: Hannah Crow, who won just over 26% of the vote, and Christian Caban, who got nearly 16%. Crow, a Republican, and Caban, a former Republican turned Democrat, will compete in a November runoff.

Hannah Crow:  heads to runoff, recount will determine competitor for vacant District 2 seat

Crow, who applied for the post, said she has “no idea” whether an appointment might happen.

Hannah Crow

“Right now, I’m focused on my race and meeting more of the neighbors and friends in District 2,” she said in a text.

Caban also applied but considered himself an unlikely pick given his party affiliation.

“I’m glad the people will choose their next commissioner — it’s better that way,” Caban said in a text. “And I’m working hard every day to earn the support of my neighbors in District 2.”

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Christian Caban

The Governor’s Office told the Tallahassee Democrat in June that the process for potentially filling the vacancy was ongoing.

“After the governor has had the chance to review any applications and make that decision, we will announce the appointment,” said Christina Pushaw, DeSantis’ former press secretary, in an email. “There is no set timeline for this process.”

Bryan Griffin, the new press secretary, told the Democrat Aug. 24 that that there was “nothing to release at this time. If an appointment is made to this seat, it will be detailed in a press release posted to flgov.com.” Griffin said Thursday he had nothing to add.

The Democrat requested copies of the applications in a June 7 public records request, though they haven’t been provided.

Christian Caban: holds lead after recount, will face Hannah Crow in District 2 runoff

Lynda Bell, a Republican who finished the primary within recount territory of Caban, said she applied early on but didn’t think an appointment was necessarily probable. She doubts one will happen now.

“At this point, it’s almost a moot point,” she said. “Quite frankly, I fully understand the governor’s perspective on this because you had a lot of people jump into the race and in the end the process played out as it did. I think the governor probably just wisely stayed out of that race.”

Manny Joanos, the other Republican in the race, also filled out an application.

“I don’t see an appointment coming,” he said. “But who knows?”

County Administrator Vince Long said the Governor’s Office hasn’t corresponded with the county about whether there would be an interim appointment. Supervisor of Elections Mark Earley said he hasn’t gotten “any indication” of one.

Meanwhile, the contest between Crow and Caban began heating up. On Tuesday, County Commissioner Bill Proctor, standing side by side with Caban, endorsed him in the District 2 race and lobbed criticism at Crow over Twitter posts she liked in 2020.

One of the posts called for all pandemic lockdown orders to be ignored. Another from conservative pundit Candace Owens referred to COVID as the “most ridiculous scam in the entire world.”

Leon County Commissioner Bill Proctor.

“That does not lift and raise the bar of unifying the citizenship,” Proctor said.

Our Tallahassee, an electioneering website pushing progressive candidates, tweeted screenshots of Crow’s Twitter likes and her near empty profile pages on Parler and Rumble, popular among conservatives. Power, the local GOP chairman, dismissed the criticism.

“This is exactly the crazy kind of progressive attacks that are silly,” Power said in a tweet.

Evan Power

Crow, in an interview, confirmed the likes on Twitter were hers, though she said “only one side was shown” of her social media activity. She said she was “not active” on her Parler and Rumble accounts.

“I was searching and trying to get educated on things and trying to do my due diligence as many people were,” she said. “I want people to know that I have been learning and growing through this process.”

She pointed out she helped organize vaccine sites in Fort Braden last year and believes “vaccines are miracles.” She added that her political opponents are spreading misconceptions about her because she’s the front-runner in the race.

“I get it,” she said. “I can take it. But this is not the type of campaigning that we need. And it’s not something I’m ever going to do.”

Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or follow @JeffBurlew on Twitter.

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Leon County Commission District 2 seat: Ron DeSantis unlikely to wade in