Florida Gov. Charlie Crist’s switch from Republican to independent is still having some after-effects in state politics, the St. Petersburg Times reports, with Crist’s appointees to the state GOP executive committee now being dismissed from their posts.
Under Florida law and the party’s rules, the governor gets to appoint ten at-large members to the executive committee of his state party. But since Crist is no longer a Republican at all, his ten appointees have now been removed.
We asked Florida GOP spokesperson Katie Betta whether any of the ten individuals had expressed a desire to remain in their positions with the party. “I don’t believe we encountered an instance where this was a problem, because these positions no longer exist on the committee,” said Betta. “And those members who served on the committee serve with an understanding of the constraints of that position.”
