The organizers of the three-day vaccine distribution event last month at Lakewood Ranch in Manatee County were focused on more than shots, text messages between them and the governor’s office.
They were also well aware of the political optics to bring Government Ron DeSantis to the city to promote vaccines in their Republican neighborhood. Instead of relying on a random selection of residents eligible for vaccine, the governor’s staff wanted them to compile a list of who would get a vaccine.
“Gov. said he might show up,” Lakewood Ranch developer Rex Jensen wrote in an SMS on Feb. 9 to Manessae County Commissioner Vanessa Baugh. “Must try to see if it will help him get exposure here.”
‘Excellent point. After all, 22 is around the corner, ” Baugh responded, referring to the race for governor in 2022.
Jensen had just had a call with DeSantis and another Lakewood Ranch developer and Republican donor, Pat Neal, about the presentation of the event and what followed was carefully choreographed. Bradenton Herald Show.
An advance team from the governor’s office visited the site. A list of selected members from two zip codes has been compiled to be eligible for the vaccinations, including Baugh himself. And a TV appearance in which the governor said he “wants to get the numbers for seniors.”
DeSantis was asked at a news conference in Lehigh Acres on Tuesday about how Baugh and Jensen “send text messages about how it can benefit you politically.” He did not respond to the text messages, but said: “It is a mistake to try to demonize certain elderly people.”
“I think there are some elements of the biased corporate media in particular who do not want people to be vaccinated who agree politically with them,” DeSantis said. “It’s insane.”
He said the site was part of a larger effort to increase vaccination rates in Manatee County. “That’s what it’s about. If your provinces are left behind, we want to try to bring extra vaccine there. ”
Vaccine event causes investigations
The vaccine event, meanwhile, has sparked community anger and a criminal and ethical inquiry.
“I am furious at the economic bias in choosing who is eligible to receive Covid vaccines at the Sports Complex in Lakewood Ranch,” Mary Gibbons, a Manatee County resident, wrote in an email to Baugh. when the news of the exclusive event on Feb. 16.
Gibbons had hoped to get vaccinated for herself and her husband, but she does not live in either of the two selected zip codes, and is therefore not eligible for the special treatment. “It’s illegal to buy your place on an organ donor list, but the Lakewood Ranch community is ‘buying’ their place on the vaccine list,” Gibbons said.
Commission chairman Baugh is now being investigated by the Manatee County Sheriff for a complaint alleging that she abused her public position when compiling a list of GDPs by name. The list included herself and Jensen.
She also faces an ethical complaint alleging that she abused her position to organize the exclusive event and abuse the VIP list.
Baugh and her co-commissioners voted unanimously in January to make the assistance pool random to make the system fairer. The province’s IT department has created a database that randomly selects who is eligible for appointments. DeSantis praised the rollout in January.
Baugh Bypass Vaccination Pool Assistance
But text messages indicate that neither Baugh nor the governor’s office suggested relying on the random pool to choose who would get the vaccine at the Lakewood Ranch meeting, but the governor’s staff asked Jensen for a list. compile and be in charge of the appointments.
‘Unbelievable. They want me to keep a list. They can not. Screw it, ” Jensen wrote in a text message to Baugh on Feb. 9, shortly after a conversation with Courtney Coppola, chief of staff at the Florida Department of Health.
“Let me see what I can do,” Baugh replied. Jensen admits to her Coppola’s cell phone number and adds: “Said if it can get past the list, they will probably give shots in 2 days.”
E-mails show that Baugh instructed the county’s director of public safety and staff to only attract residents who listed their zip codes 34202 and 34211 when they registered. Both zip codes are in Baugh’s district.
Meanwhile, Jensen is sending an email to Coppola stressing that he does not have the ability to compile a list as requested.
“Although we can easily get the word out, I do not have the infrastructure or staff to put in place all the necessary calls to compile and maintain a list of candidates for the vaccine,” he wrote. “I copy Commissioner Baugh in the hope that she can think creatively to find a solution.”
Neither the Florida Department of Health, the Florida Emergency Management Division nor the governor’s office would explain why they asked Jensen and Baugh to compile a list of vaccine recipients, instead of relying on the country’s random trust coil.
They would also not answer why the 3,000 extra vaccines were not added to the province’s award.
“The goal is to vaccinate as many seniors as possible, and working with senior living communities is a common sense approach, both administratively and logistically,” said Governor’s spokeswoman Meredith Beatrice.
Baugh defended her choice of the two zip codes at a provincial commission meeting, saying they “cover many southeastern areas of Manatee County, which the governor wanted to do.”
“People need to look at the statistics,” she said. ‘There were other clinics and many people in the east had not yet received the vaccines and were underserved. I see it as a win-win. This is not a negative situation. ”
DeSantis, which did not announce its re-election offer, maintained strict control over the distribution of vaccines and appeared regularly in specially selected communities with welcoming audiences of cheering supporters. Since December, when vaccines began arriving in Florida, the governor has been using his political committee to raise $ 3.9 million, including $ 2.7 million in the month of February alone.
Among the heavy donors in the past was Neal, another developer of Lakewood Ranch, who gave the governor $ 2018,000 in 2018-19. In 2018, DeSantis Manatee County won overwhelmingly against its Democratic opponent, Andrew Gillum, who received 57 percent of the vote.
But DeSantis’s handling of vaccinations also drew criticism for playing favorites, as communities of wealthy donors were among the lists of recipients of some of the earliest vaccination clinics.
“It could be big for him”
DeSantis denied giving anyone special treatment, but the governor’s office declined to release full details of its distribution records on vaccines and the criteria it uses to decide which communities get them.
“If Manatee County doesn’t like us doing it, it’s good for us to place it in provinces that want it,” DeSantis said when asked about it.
But the text messages between Baugh and the governor’s staff show that the governor’s office calls the most shots.
‘[Gov] Chief of Staff Adrian was also involved, “Jensen wrote to Baugh at the end of the day on February 9, referring to DeSantis’ deputy chief of staff, Adrian Lukis. Baugh has just confirmed that they have agreed to handle the list of vaccine recipients.
“I will call the governor’s office in the morning and try to put it all together, and I will let you know how it is going,” she added.
But its location and its political importance were also on their minds.
Referring to the sports complex at Lakewood Ranch, Baugh said, “Premier seems to be the best.”
Jensen agrees: ‘Yep and he is better known on the east side. Premiere can have a good setup for him. ‘
“Absolutely,” Baugh replied. ‘We’ll be very concerned about having it with Premier. It could be big for him. ”
By Friday, February 12, the information from the governor’s staff had not been finalized, and according to text messages, Baugh and Jensen became impatient.
“I’m calling Gov this morning to see what’s going on,” Baugh told Jensen. In an email later that morning, Coppola confirmed that the event would begin next Wednesday.
As if to emphasize that the event is funded by taxpayers, not them, Baugh told Jensen: ‘It will be handled by the National Guard for [second day and] they will bring in nurses to give vaccine. We’re close. ”
Bradenton Herald staff writer Ryan Callihan and Lawrence Mower staff writer from Tampa Bay Times contributed to this story.
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