Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Daniel Foganholi to the School Board of Broward County on Thursday, effective immediately.
Foganhilu will replace Rodney “Rod” Velez, who was elected in November but cannot continue to hold office due to a criminal conviction. To be an elected official, convicted felons have to have their civil rights restored, and Velez hasn’t.
Foganholi will be sworn in on Jan 18 to represent District 1, which includes Miramar, Hollywood, west Pembroke Pines, north Hallandale Beach, and south Dania Beach.
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This is not Foganholi’s first time on the Board. DeSantis appointed him on Apr 29 to the District 5 seat, stretching from northwest Fort Lauderdale, east Sunrise, and southwest Oakland Park to northeast Plantation. While on the Board, Foganholi led the charge in firing former Broward Superintendent Vickie Cartwright, which ended with a 5-4 vote to dismiss her the day before Foganholi’s term ended.
Earlier, the Board had placed her on probation, but Foganholi urged the Board to cut her off completely, accusing her of incompetence and deceit.
“Broward County has no room for corruption; we have to make that statementIt goes back to the day I was very vocal when we left with the vote for the 90 days. But I’m going to do today what I think I should’ve done then. I’d like to make a motion … to terminate the superintendent without cause and discuss immediate separation from the district.”
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Foganholi could not run for re-election for the District 5 chair due to not living in the district, but DeSantis’s appointment gets around this issue, as such requirements do not restrict appointees. The appointment was met with some fanfare on Twitter, representing one more win for DeSantis in his push to clean out school boards.
Broward School Board Member @DanFoganholi was the man with the courage and strength of character to move to FIRE Superintendent Sneaky Vickie Cartwright in November after two SCATHING audits. Today @GovRonDeSantis re-appointed Foganholi to fill the District 1 seat! 👏👏🔥🔥🇺🇸🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/3PHTUM7bX1
— Chris Nelson 🇺🇸 🏝 (@ReOpenChris) December 22, 2022
Besides his decisiveness in dealing with Cartwright, Foganholi is an ideal appointee for DeSantis, as he’s a first-generation immigrant and someone who truly believes in and has lived the American dream.
“My parents came here from Brazil with a dream to make a better future for our family, for me, for my sister,” he said, according to the Miaimi Herald, “They came to the U.S. for opportunity — and this is what opportunity looks like, this is what the American dream looks like.”
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