Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he will make a decision soon about replacing Miami-Dade Commissioner Joe Martinez following his arrest on corruption charges last week.
Speaking at a news conference in Miami Wednesday, DeSantis implied that a suspension would be issued soon for Martinez, who was arrested on charges of unlawful compensation and conspiracy to commit unlawful compensation.
"Obviously when you have the situation like that, there is going to be a new commissioner and we understand that," DeSantis said.
DeSantis has the power to suspended Martinez and appoint a replacement.
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"So a lot of people have proposed new candidates for that, I have not had a chance to be kind of briefed on all the potential candidates for that," DeSantis told reporters. "There's a question about whether the person has to live in that district, I think probably, some people say not, but you know as a matter of good governance it's probably good if that's the case."
"We're gonna go through all those issues, I am gonna get briefed on it this week and we'll probably have a decision in the not too distant future," DeSantis continued.
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According to an arrest warrant, the charges stem from money Martinez allegedly accepted in exchange for him helping a supermarket owner and property owner who were having issues over cargo storage containers.
The owners had been fined tens of thousands of dollars for violating a county ordinance that prohibited properties of under 10 acres from having cargo storage containers, the warrant said.
The warrant said Martinez accepted three $5,000 payments from the supermarket owner in exchange for his assistance with the fees and fines, as well as his help in drafting legislation amending the ordinance to allow one storage container on properties under 10 acres.
Attorneys for Martinez contend that the charges are political, coming as Martinez weighs a possible run for sheriff in Miami-Dade.
"For now, Commissioner Martinez makes clear that he is innocent of any wrongdoing and intends to aggressively work to clear his name," his attorneys said in a statement.
Martinez, 64, served as chairman of the commission twice before. He first held the District 11 seat in 2000 and opted not to run for reelection in 2012 before winning the post again in 2016.
Though the Miami-Dade commission seat is non-partisan, Martinez was a Republican candidate for Congress in 2014.
