DeSantis-appointed commissioner Jeffery Moore retains position in large Florida nonprofit

Jeffery Moore, who resigned from the Gadsden County Commission after a photo allegedly showing him in a Ku Klux Klan outfit began circulating, remains an executive board member of the nonprofit Association of Florida Conservation Districts (AFCD) despite multiple internal pleas for him to resign or be fired.

Charlene Meeks, AFCD executive director, confirmed that Moore will keep his position on the executive board before referring a reporter to legal counsel "who gave legal advice on whether or not Mr. Moore committed a crime."

Moore, who has not returned multiple requests for comment, was president of the Association of Florida Conservation Districts until the summer when he stepped down after his appointment to the Gadsden County Commission by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Since his resignation as current AFCD president, Moore began as the past president, the only nonelected position on the six-person executive board, which cycles to whoever was the last president of the AFCD. None of the executive board member positions are paid.

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Burlin Findley, a member of the Blackwater Soil and Water Conservation District who was president of the AFCD in 2017-2018, took over Moore's position as acting president of the AFCD in September.

The role of past president is to provide guidance and advise new presidents, especially in the initial months of their tenure. They can also vote on issues and help lead the natural resource conservation efforts of the 54 Soil and Water Conservation Districts in Florida.

David Ramba, legal counsel for the AFCD, said Moore's fellow executive board members decided not to hold a quorum or vote on a motion to remove Moore because he will be rotated off the position in February when the current president, Findley, becomes the immediate past president.

"After discussion of the ongoing press coverage, the lack of facts surrounding the veracity of the photo and identified individuals, the fact that Mr. Moore automatically rotates off the Board at the AFCD Annual Meeting in February, as well as the fact there was not a quorum present to act at the specially called meeting, no action was proposed to be taken at this time," read a statement from Ramba to Meeks obtained by the Democrat.

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Findley told the Democrat Tuesday that he has not decided whether he will run for another one-year term, which could enable Moore to keep his executive position for another year.

'The guy's kind of gone dark'

Ramba told the Democrat that he called Moore to suggest he resign from the executive board.

"If he would return our calls and just resign, that would be an easier way to do it," Ramba said. "But you know, the guy's kind of gone dark."

Moore was appointed to the Gadsden County Commission by Gov. Ron DeSantis in late July and was the only Republican on the board representing Florida's only predominantly Black county.

DeSantis' office has not returned multiple requests for comment on Moore's retirement and the photograph, which prompted outrage among local leaders and officials including Rep. Al Lawson, D-Tallahassee, and Gadsden County Commissioner Brenda Holt.

Last week, the Florida Democratic Party slammed DeSantis for installing Moore as well as his silence on the subject.

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"At this point, nobody should be surprised that this extreme Governor who wants total control over women's reproductive health care decisions ... would install a man who parades in a Klan uniform to a position of power in Florida's Blackest county," wrote Kobie Christian, a spokesperson for the Florida Democratic Party.

"Hate finds haven with Ron DeSantis, and it's clear his moral compass is broken. Floridians deserve so much better."

Commissioners debate resignation

Since news broke of the photograph, multiple members of county Soil and Water Conservation Districts around the state called for Moore's resignation or termination, according to email exchanges obtained and independently verified by the Tallahassee Democrat.

On Sept. 29, Ted Clark, the chair of the Clay County Soil and Water Conservation District asked Moore to resign by the following day.

"In order to maintain the reputation of the AFCD and all of the Soil and Water Conservation Districts in the State of Florida, please resign from the office of AFCD Past President," he wrote. "Please save the AFCD and all Soil and Water Conservation Districts this stress, burden, and embarrassment."

Within an hour, Archie Matthews, an AFCD executive board member, called Clark's request "unreasonable."

"I find it unfortunate that you have taken such a vocal and unreasonable (in my opinion) stand regarding Jeff," he wrote in a reply email. "I find no accusation that Jeff was a Klan member, nor have I heard of any incidents that would lead me to believe that Jeff has any racist tendencies."

Matthews, a member of the Alachua Soil and Water Conservation District, continued: "An incident occurring forty years ago at a fraternity party is hardly a reason to place this level of censure on someone who has lived a life of exemplary public service."

Matthews later walked back his claim that the alleged photo of Moore, a graduate of Florida State University, was taken at a fraternity party.

"I was told that," Matthews told the Tallahassee Democrat Tuesday. "I have not spoken to Moore."

When asked who told him, he said, "I do not remember; I've had so many conversations about this over the course of the last couple of weeks that I would be hard pressed to remember who said what."

'Rug-sweeping and inaction'

Cara Fleischer, the supervisor of the Leon Soil and Water Conservation District, said while the capital county's board has not made an official statement on the matter, she would like Moore to resign.

"This is not be a good representation of our boards," she said Tuesday, adding: "It flies in the face of our work ... to empower African American farmers."

On Oct. 4, Amy Morie, a member of the Bradford Soil and Water Conservation District board, called for the immediate resignation or discharge of Moore in an email to executive board members and staff.

She also requested that leadership be proactive and issue a statement after Moore's termination to get ahead of any potential negative press.

"I am writing as an individual board member to request the immediate resignation or discharge of Jeff Moore," she wrote. "No matter how far in the past the event in question occurred, our organization appears to support this disturbing racist display by one of our leadership either by association or rug-sweeping and inaction."

Nicole Crosby, the chair of the St. Johns Soil and Water Conservation District, penned a similar message requesting an in-person quorum or a Zoom meeting that could be attended by Soil and Water Conservation District members outside of the executive board.

Soon, Matthews replied saying a Zoom conference had already taken place between legal counsel and the AFCD board and that legal council advised to not remove Moore from the board.

"The AFCD Board has done due diligence by meeting with legal counsel. It was a Zoom meeting, by the way," he wrote. "It would be irresponsible for the Board to proceed with action contrary to advice of counsel."

Crosby told the Tallahassee Democrat she hopes there will be a quorum scheduled on Moore's leadership position.

"This is an unofficial decision made by an inner circle until a quorum is made," she said. "I'm not happy at all about brushing this under the rug or acting like we'll just let four months pass. Four months is a long time."

Contact Christopher Cann at ccann@tallahassee.com and follow @ChrisCannFL on Twitter.

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Ex-Gadsden commissioner retains spot at Florida nonprofit after KKK photo