Text messages show New College alum acted as liaison between DeSantis' office and board

Text messages released by New College of Florida through a public records request show that alum Bob Allen acted as a liaison between Gov. Ron DeSantis' office and board members in the early days of the governor's conservative takeover of the school.

DeSantis appointed six new trustees to the college's 13-member board on Jan. 6 in an effort to transform the small Sarasota college into something resembling Hillsdale College, a conservative Christian school.

On Jan. 9, Allen texted holdover board member Sarah Mackie and asked her to "please call me," according to the messages obtained by the Florida Center for Government Accountability through a public records request coordinated with the Herald-Tribune.

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"Alex Kelly from the Governors office would like to speak to you," Allen added in his message to Mackie.

"Will call you as soon as I get a break," Mackie responded.

Allen sent the same text message to holdover board member Lance Karp, telling him Kelly "would like to speak to you."

Alex Kelly is a deputy chief of staff for DeSantis.

New College only turned over the records after the FLCGA filed a lawsuit, and released just a portion of the requested records.

Messages sent by DeSantis' board appointees from the time they were appointed on Jan. 6 until they were sworn in have not been released, with the college arguing they are not public. The FLCGA disputes that assertion and is continuing to seek the records in court.

The college also has not turned over records from any administrators' private email accounts or cell phones, claiming these records aren't public, which the FLCGA also disputes and is fighting in court.

New College's revamped board quickly moved on Jan. 31 to fire former President Patricia Okker and install DeSantis ally Richard Corcoran as her replacement.

Concerns raised about New College decision-making

Concerns have been raised about how the leadership change was handled, and whether it was coordinated behind the scenes, possibly with help from an intermediary, in way that was shielded from public view.

That speculation spilled into public view during a board meeting, when one of the speakers during the public comment period claimed Allen acted as the “liaison to install Corcoran.”

Some have questioned whether the state's open government laws were broken.

State law says that public board members must conduct their business in the open, and can't coordinate actions out of public view. Courts have determined that prohibition extends to having an intermediary go between board members to coordinate a vote, said FLCGA director of public access Michael Barfield.

No evidence has surfaced indicating anyone helped coordinate board votes, but the newly released text messages show Allen did act as an intermediary between board members and the governor's office. They also show he was in contact with Corcoran.

"Spoke again with Corcoran," Allen texted Trustee Ron Christaldi on Feb. 1, the day after the board fired Okker and moved toward hiring Corcoran as interim president. "We are going to knock it out of the park."

Barfield said the records released Tuesday "indicate that individuals were communicating with New College board members about public business."

"We know additional records exist and urge the board members to fully comply and produce all public records responsive to our request," Barfield added. "Citizens should not have to resort to the courts to force our government to be transparent."

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Allen and Mackie did not immediately respond to questions from the Herald-Tribune. New College General Counsel Bill Galvano declined to comment on the decision to withhold certain records.

Karp said in an interview that despite the text message he received from Allen, he never ended up speaking with Kelly or anyone else from the governor's office. Nobody from the governor's office ever contacted him about hiring Corcoran, and he didn't speak with Allen about it, Karp said.

Okker introduced Karp to Allen as "a concerned, loyal, successful alumnus of the college” and they've spoken periodically, Karp said.

“We never talked about Corcoran, the hiring of him," Karp said. "The first time I heard his name mentioned was at the (Jan. 31) meeting."

Karp voted to keep Okker, but he believes Corcoran has performed well as her replacement.

“When I was sitting at the meeting and we needed an interim, when the name was floated at that meeting I thought instantly this is a good idea, but it was at that meeting," Karp said, adding that “working with Richard these past couple of months, I think he’s been doing a spectacular job. He’s all in."

Christaldi said he never spoke with Allen or the governor's office before the Jan. 31 meeting about hiring Corcoran as interim president.

"I had not heard of president Corcoran’s interest until about an hour before the meeting when I saw a press report on it," Christaldi said in an email. "I did not talk with anyone at all about it before the public meeting."

Asked about the nature of Allen's conversations with Corcoran and why he wanted to inform Christaldi of them, Christaldi said: "I do not know."

"I don’t recall responding to that text and I didn’t speak with Bob about it to my recollection," he added.

New College grad working behind the scenes

The Herald-Tribune previously reported that Allen, a conservative South Florida lawyer who graduated from New College in 1978, has been deeply involved in New College's transformation.

According to several alumni, Allen told them that shaking up New College’s board wasn’t on DeSantis’ radar until he raised the issue with the governor. Allen told one New College alum he recommended a slate of new board members to the governor, some of whom ended up being appointed.

Allen confirmed his involvement in a statement to the Herald-Tribune for a previous article.

"As I began to wonder why the college’s leadership had been ineffective in managing its relationship with Tallahassee, I studied the situation and discovered there were several vacancies on the Board of Trustees," Allen said. "To preserve New College, I recommended the Governor fill the vacancies.  He did so..."

Some New College trustees appointed by DeSantis previously told the Herald-Tribune they've been in contact with Allen, who attended a dinner with trustees on the night Okker was fired.

Trustee Eddie Speir, who was appointed by DeSantis, said he had "a lot of conversations" with Allen, who has a child who plays tennis at the Bradenton school founded by Speir. Allen initially asked him to keep their relationship secret, Speir said, and has been "trying" to act as an adviser.

Asked if he spoke to Allen about appointing college administrator Brad Thiessen, and then Corcoran, as interim president Speir said "perhaps."

"If we did talk (I don’t remember if we did), it didn’t matter because I had already set my mind on Corcoran," Speir said.

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The latest public records obtained by the Florida Center for Government Accountability provide further evidence of Allen's communications with board members. In addition to texting some board members, he sent an email to eight of the board members on Jan. 26.

Allen's email was sent to the six board members appointed by DeSantis, Karp and Ryan Anderson, a conservative board member appointed by the Florida Board of Governors on Jan. 26.

Allen's email gave his impressions on a pair of town hall discussions that Speir and new trustee Christopher Rufo held on campus the day before.

Allen sent another email to the trustees on the same day, forwarding them a column from a conservative New College graduate who argued that the college's culture is "overdue for a reset." In the email, Allen tells the trustees "please don't respond − except, if you do so − only to me given Florida's Sunshine law."

Records obtained by the FLCGA in March appear to show new Trustee Matthew Spalding, a DeSantis appointee, coordinating with individuals behind the scenes on the motions he made in January to move toward hiring Corcoran as interim president and Galvano as general counsel, including texting with Corcoran himself.

Someone named Richard with the initials “RC” who appears to be Corcoran, texted with Spalding. The text says: “motion is I start no later than march 1^st. I may start earlier.” The text appears to have been sent on Jan. 31, the same day Okker was fired and Spalding made the motion to negotiate with Corcoran to become interim president.

Another individual identified only as “Kelly” texted with Spalding regarding Galvano. The text appears to include language for the motion Spalding made to negotiate with Galvano, a veteran GOP elected official, to become general counsel,

In another text message released in March, Speir talks about communicating with Alex Kelly.

Speir texted Alan Levine, a member of the state governing body for Florida's university system, on Jan. 27 to say that Kelly suggested they connect.

"Hey Alan, this is Eddie Speir, trustee with New College," Speir wrote. "Alex Kelly gave me your contact info. And suggested we meet/talk. Give me a call at your convenience."

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Ron DeSantis' office used New College alum Bob Allen as board liaison