Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Wednesday morning the appointment of Moms for Liberty co-founder and former Brevard County school board member Tina Descovich to Florida’s Commission on Ethics, News 6 partner Florida Today reports.
Descovich, who served on Brevard’s school board from 2016 to 2020, founded Moms for Liberty with former Indian River school board member Tiffany Justice in 2021. The group has been outspoken about topics including COVID-19 restrictions, critical race theory, LGBTQ issues and removing what they view as inappropriate material from school libraries. The group has garnered national attention for its members’ protests at school board meetings and efforts to remove books from school libraries.
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In a text to FLORIDA TODAY Wednesday afternoon, Descovich said she was honored to be appointed to the commission.
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“The Florida Ethics Commission is charged with serving as the guardian of the standards of conduct for public officers and employees as well as safeguarding public trust,” she said. “It will be a privilege to serve the state I love as a member of this commission.”
Since it was founded, the organization — which was labeled an extremist group by the Southern Poverty Law Center in June — has grown to include 299 chapters in 46 states with more than 130,000 members. Their second annual “Joyful Warriors” summit was held at the end of June in Philadelphia, with speakers including presidential candidates Donald Trump, DeSantis, Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy.
The Commission on Ethics lost its chairperson near the end of August, when Glen Gilzean Jr. resigned, choosing instead to keep his job as Disney district administrator with the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District and the $400,000 salary that came with it.
Members of the commission are not allowed to hold any public employment, though Gilzean said he was unaware of a possible conflict.
Prior to forming Moms for Liberty, Descovich was elected to Brevard’s school board in 2016, where she served until she lost the seat to Jennifer Jenkins in the 2020 election. In 2018, she was chosen to serve as president of the Florida Coalition of School Board Members, which at the time described itself as a nonpartisan alternative to the Florida School Boards Association.
Descovich was appointed to the Commission on Ethics alongside Luis Fuste, an attorney from Miami. Both appointments must be confirmed by the Florida Senate.
Descovich did not immediately respond to FLORIDA TODAY’s request for further comment.
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