A Florida whistleblower says he was fired for leaking plans by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration to build golf courses and hotels in state parks.
The Republican governor’s Department of Environmental Protection has drawn up maps for proposals to build golf courses, pickleball courts, 350-room hotels and more in nine state parks from Miami to the Panhandle and planned a single hour of public hearings near the affected parks.
News of the proposals spread, sparking protests and a massive public backlash against the plans, which the department has since withdrawn.
James Gaddis, who worked as a cartographer for the department, said he wrote a summary of the proposals on his work computer and shared it, sparking outrage.
After the information leaked, Gaddis was placed on administrative leave on Aug. 30. The next day, he received a termination letter in the mail saying he had violated department policies.
Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Department of Environmental Protection had drawn up maps for proposed construction of golf courses, 350-room hotels and more at nine state parks.
James Gaddis (pictured), who worked as a cartographer for the department, said he wrote up a summary of the proposals on his work computer and shared it with the public.
“While I was making maps, I was obviously upset,” Gaddis said. WPTV.
“We got to a point where we were operating in total secrecy all this time. I got tired of that.”
The single father said he was instructed to begin creating the maps in early August.
“We were totally surprised. It came out of the blue… We were told not to talk about this to anyone, not even our colleagues who work in other units or in the building,” he said.
“This really destroyed the morale of the park planning office. We started swearing at each other.”
He later learned he would be hosting one of the public hearings and said he was told to play a pre-recorded PowerPoint presentation, not answer questions, limit capacity to about 100 people and stop after an hour.
The single father said he was ordered to begin creating the maps in early August and then told he would lead a limited public forum on the plans.
News of the proposals spread, triggering protests and a massive public backlash against the plans.
“We started to get concerned about our personal safety in going and facilitating these meetings,” Gaddis said. “So it got to a point where I decided that this needed to be made public and we were working on it.”
After the information became public, Gaddis was placed on administrative leave and then fired the next day.
A copy of the termination letter obtained by the local news station said he was fired for behavior unbecoming a public employee and violating department rules.
DeSantis said on Aug. 28 that his administration’s controversial proposal was “going back to the drawing board” and sought to distance himself from the plan.
“I didn’t approve it. I never saw it. A lot of that stuff was half-done and not ready for official release,” DeSantis said.
Protesters gathered at several state parks demanding the proposals be halted.
DeSantis put the brakes on the controversial proposals and said the plans are “half-baked”
“If people don’t want improvements, then don’t do them. They’re not going to do anything this year. They’re going to come back and basically listen to people.”
The proposals included plans for golf courses at Jonathan Dickinson State Park in southeast Florida, which were scrapped even before the governor’s remarks.
The main developer of the development, a nonprofit called the Tuskegee Dunes Foundation, withdrew from the plan amid the backlash.
Draft plans posted on the state’s website also show plans to build 350-room shelters at both Anastasia State Park in St. Augustine and Topsail Hill Preserve State Park in Santa Rosa Beach.
DailyMail.com has reached out to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for comment.
