James Gaddis is a beacon of hope in Florida.
You know who he is. Gaddis was an obscure state employee who was fired from his job last summer after leaking details of a secret plot by the DeSantis administration to despoil nine pristine Florida state parks with golf courses, pickleball courts and resort-style lodges — all to benefit his wealthy friends.
The revelation set off a statewide furor that nearly a year later has still not subsided.
Amid a disastrous launch by the state Department of Environmental Protection, residents organized mass protests all over the state, including at Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Hobe Sound, which was targeted for three golf courses.
The outcry forced DeSantis to beat a hasty retreat, calling DEP’s plan “just half-baked and it was not ready for prime time.”
State legislators scrambled to pass a law to protect these public treasures from being ravaged for profit. DeSantis was forced to sign it into law last month.
But whatever happened to Gaddis, who blew the whistle? He was quietly fired at DEP and claims he was fired for speaking out. He’s now suing DEP, his former employer, for $50,000 in damages and costs.
Gaddis’ firing last Aug. 31 has all the earmarks of another act of retribution by an administration known for punishing its critics with brutal precision.
But to Gaddis’ credit, he’s fighting back forcefully, and he’s getting a lot of support, emotionally and financially, from Floridians he has never met — which is...
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