‘There is going to be a new commissioner.’ DeSantis comments on Miami-Dade’s Martinez

Gov. Ron DeSantis said his administration has received a growing list of potential replacements for Joe Martinez, a Miami-Dade commissioner arrested on corruption charges, and expects to announce a decision soon on suspending him from office.

“When you have a situation like that, there is going to be a new commissioner,” DeSantis said Wednesday at a press conference in Sweetwater, where he announced a proposal for 50% toll rebates for frequent payers. “We’ll probably have a decision in the not too distant future.”

READ MORE: What happens when a Miami-Dade commissioner goes to jail? A look at Martinez’s bad day

The DeSantis inner circle is seeking a replacement for Martinez, a Republican charged on Aug. 30 with two felony counts tied to $15,000 in payments that prosecutors say he received from a business owner allegedly for legislation the District 11 commissioner proposed but never advanced.

Martinez, who has represented the western Miami-Dade district since 2016, denied the charges and said he’s innocent.

DeSantis said “a lot of people have proposed new candidates” to replace Martinez. A DeSantis appointee would serve through the 2024 elections or until any suspension ended, either by a vote by the state Senate to remove or reinstate Martinez or if DeSantis opted to lift it.

Martinez could also resign, creating a vacancy the Miami-Dade commission would fill with an appointment or a special election.

Florida’s Constitution gives the governor the authority to suspend a county officeholder charged with a felony, but that action is not required. Martinez declined to attend last week’s commission meeting, the first since his arrest. Miami-Dade holds preliminary budget and tax votes Thursday after a budget hearing that begins at 5 p.m. Martinez hasn’t said whether he plans to attend.

At his press conference, DeSantis said any replacement would likely be from District 11. The Florida Constitution is silent on criteria for who the governor can appoint in this circumstance, but Miami-Dade’s charter states commissioners lose their seats if they stop living in their districts.

“There’s a question about whether the person has to live in that district,” DeSantis, a lawyer, told reporters. “I think probably,” he said, citing “good governance.”

This story was originally published September 7, 2022 at 3:50 PM.