A menorah stands at the entrance to the Florida Senate chamber on Dec. 16, 2024. (Photo by Jay Waagmeester/Florida Phoenix)
Members of the Florida Legislative Jewish Caucus vocalized opposition to the newly appointed University of West Florida Board of Trustees chair, citing what they consider his antisemitic social media posts as a disqualifying factor.
Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Scott Yenor to the UWF Board of Trustees in January and then his fellow trustees elected him as their chair.
The bipartisan caucus is asking DeSantis to reconsider Yenor as a trustee, in part because of a recent thread of social media posts in which he commented on politicians’ sexual orientation, race, and “non-Jewish” status.
Watching @PeteHegseth‘s hearings yesterday I looked at the Dem Bench for national leadership or for reforming the party. Pretty slim pickin’s.
— Scott Yenor (@scottyenor) January 15, 2025
Rep. Mike Gottlieb, chair of the caucus, told the Phoenix, “I mean, this is not the kind of guy that we need running an institution of higher learning and education here. He’s completely racist.”
In the thread, Yenor breaks down “the Dem Bench for national leadership or for reforming the party” by mentioning how many are heterosexual, lesbian, which states have two senators who are women, how many are “non-Jewish males over 65,” how many are Jewish, and concludes by writing that “only three of the 23 Democrat governors are straight white men under sixty-five.”
“Why are they non-Jews as opposed to being Christian?” Gottlieb said. “People are people, there is no need to label anybody.”
Yenor, a political science professor at Boise State University who has served as a fellow at conservative think tanks, has faced scrutiny for remarks advocating women stay out of higher education and against the LGBTQ community.
“There’s more to it than just what appears to be the anti-Jewish bias,” Gottlieb said. “… How does that make us any less qualified to be elected based on our religion, and that’s essentially what he said, and to me, that is marginalizing individuals based on their race, ethnicity, or religion, and I think that’s the definition of antisemitism.”
‘I’m not familiar with that’
DeSantis defended the appointment in January, saying he was not familiar with Yenor’s belief that women should put motherhood first, the Phoenix reported.
DeSantis defends UWF board nominee who criticizes women prioritizing their careers
“I’m not familiar with that. I mean, obviously, I think if you look at the state of Florida, we probably have a higher percentage of women enrolled in our state universities than we do men, and that’s probably grown under my tenure,” DeSantis said during the Jacksonville press conference in which he talked about the results of his education policy. “But what I don’t do, what I don’t like, is cherry-picking somebody saying this and then trying to smear them.”
Although Yenor is on the board, the appointment is yet to be approved by the Florida Senate.
Gottlieb said the caucus “felt like the governor should know more about this person.”
The bipartisan bunch of lawmakers, in addition to Gottlieb, includes Reps. Hillary Cassel and Yvette Benarroch as vice chairs, and Sens. Lori Berman, Randy Fine, and Tina Polsky, and Reps. Peggy Gossett-Seidman, Rita Harris, Chip LaMarca, Mitch Rosenwald, Michelle Salzman, David Silvers, Kelly Skidmore, Allison Tant, and Debra Tendrich.
Former Sen. Lauren Book and former Rep. David Silvers were included in the call to the governor.
Rep. Mike Caruso, who was the lone House vote against the special session immigration package DeSantis also disapproved of, is a member of the caucus but did not sign the letter.
Fine noted the impending confirmation vote Monday in an X post in which he declared he was “very troubled” by the appointment.
“He must still be confirmed by the Florida Senate and I will be sharing my concerns with my colleagues. There is no place for antisemitism in our Universities, let alone in their leadership,” Fine wrote.
‘Divisive and prejudiced remarks’
WUWF reported that some members of the UWF community and trustees expressed a desire for leadership with deeper ties to the community. The Pensacola News Journal reported that one of 13 trusteeships at UWF has direct ties to the Pensacola area.
Gottlieb said Yenor reached out to members of the caucus Monday.
“He’s contacted members of our caucus and tried to sort of explain his rationale for that and it didn’t fly with them,” Gottlieb said.
“Look, is he saying anything in that tweet explicitly negative to Jews? Not necessarily explicitly. But, by implication … I think when you call somebody out for being Jewish or not Jewish, that is antisemitic in and of itself.”
A news release from the caucus said that “allowing individuals with a track record of divisive and prejudiced remarks to hold positions of influence within our institutions … erodes public trust” and undermines the mission of Florida’s universities.
“From where I sit, we have a responsibility as legislators and certainly, as chair of the caucus, when I see something to say something, and this was brought to my attention by members of my caucus who felt that this was yet again another troubling appointment by Gov. DeSantis that doesn’t appear to be properly vetted,” Gottlieb said.
During the January news conference, DeSantis alluded to the idea that changes would be coming to UWF. His attention to its board of trustees mirrors his overhaul of New College of Florida two years ago.
Gottlieb said that, aside from the Jewish caucus concerns, Yenor is another “minion” for DeSantis.
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