Governor Ron DeSantis announced three new appointees to the South Florida Water Management District, Thursday, at a press conference in Naples.
From North Collier Park in Naples, DeSantis announced the appointments of Miami-area homebuilder and Everglades Foundation member Carlos “Charlie” Martinez, Islamorada Realtor and former EPA contractor Cheryl Anne Meads, and Marco Island City Councilwoman Charlette Roman.
Roman is also a retired Army Colonel and former Environmental Commissioner on the Collier County Planning Commission.
“I think if you look at these people, they’ve done very well in their careers they bring a lot of aptitude," DeSantis said. "They all care about the water problems we’ve had. I think they’re all committed to fixing it.”
The South Florida Water Management District is a government agency that oversees water resources for 7.7 million Floridians in 16 counties making it the largest regional water management district in the state.
Later in the day, Gov. DeSantis announced the appointment of Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch to the South Florida Water Management District Board at a press conference in Stuart. Thurlow-Lippisch is the former Mayor of Seawall Point. She’s been a long-time advocate for the St. Lucie River and the Indian River Lagoon and last year she served on Florida’s Constitution Revision Commission where she chaired a committee focused on the environmental section of the state Constitution.
Thursday’s announcement marks Gov. Desantis’ fourth visit to Southwest Florida since taking office. Late last month, DeSantis was in Southwest Florida to announce the appointment of Sanibel City Councilman Chauncey Goss and Broward County developer and conservationist Ron Bergeron to the district board. During that same visit, DeSantis announced his priority of an historic $625 million investment from the state in Everglades restoration and water resource protection over the next four years.
Shortly after his inauguration, DeSantis asked for the resignation of every member of the South Florida Water Management District and has been announcing new appointments since then.
DeSantis says he plans to announce his final appointments to the nine-member board by the end of next week.
