McGraw files suit against DeSantis

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

Former School Board Member Diyonne McGraw has filed a Petition of Quo Warranto against Governor Ron DeSantis in the Eighth Judicial Court, arguing that DeSantis did not have the power to declare her seat vacant.

The petition, filed by McGraw’s attorney, Richard Keith Alan II, argues that the governor’s executive order declaring McGraw’s seat vacant violated the separation of powers doctrine, stating that the legal issue of whether McGraw is still a school board member is reserved for judicial determination. The petition goes on to say that “Governor DeSantis has acted in reckless regard” for a prior opinion on the issue. “Accordingly, the Governor’s improper exercise (abuse) of executive power must be checked.”

The petition seeks a writ of quo warranto directing the governor to explain by what authority he issued the executive order, a determination that the order is an improper exercise of the governor’s power, and a declaration that the executive order is void. It also argues that even if the executive order was properly issued, it does not remove McGraw from office. The petition claims that “The Governor’s appointee would be required to file and prevail on a petition for writ of quo warranto in court before Mrs. McGraw could be removed from the District 2 Alachua County School Board seat.”

The school board has two meetings today, a Workshop at 1:00 p.m. and a Special Meeting at 6 p.m. Social media posts indicate that McGraw plans to attend and to attempt to vote.

Update at 1:40 p.m.: McGraw is not in her seat at the Workshop.

You can read the filing here.

  • We may be on our way to a new version of the Kardashians!!! The law is straight forward. However, bring in the attorneys and this thing will go on at least longer than a Kardashian marriage!!!

  • This suit is a waste of time and money as it is highly unlikely to succeed. Ms. McGraw is hurting her chances of holding any future office. Obviously, after all the dust clears the SB will redraw the districts and she will seek office in whatever district her address lands, unfortunately voters like myself will remember how she handled this situation and I doubt she will be successful. When made aware of the error she should have done the right thing and resigned, it would have showed the voters and the students she wished to represent that she had integrity. I will admit that I voted for her in this past election but will not in the future based solely on her lack of integrity.

  • School boards are part of the Executive branch, and a governor has oversight — not some random judge clowns a partisan lawyer can hunt and choose.

  • At this point, she is like someone who deposited a fake money order into her Wells-Fargo account, and Wells-Fargo initially gave her credit for the money. Then Wells-Fargo figured out the mistake and took the money back out of her account. That’s it – end of story. She can roll around on the ground screaming, but it’s not going to change anything.

  • I hope she has to personally bankroll this litigation and that us taxpayers aren’t responsible for her part of it – even though we are going to have to pay for the defense of the frivolous litigation. She should be ASHAMED of herself for BREAKING THE LAW, and not trying to blame the governor for calling her out on it.

  • It’s all about her lack of character and integrity. Nothing more or less.

    The real shame is when community leaders, (people know who he is), come out playing the race card regarding her removal by DeSantis. This same individual threw the SOE under the bus. Liberals, always blaming someone else or transferring their own lack of responsibility to someone else.

  • Blaming Governor DeSantis or questioning his authority to remove McGraw is a distraction from the facts that have been reported. You have to live in the District that you want to represent. That seems pretty simple. Am I missing something? How is this missed by the Supervisor of Elections? A basic review of the Candidate Application should have shown McGraw to be ineligible.

  • She better not try to “attend and attempt to vote”…
    If so, the governor may replace the whole school board
    If they let someone who’s seat has been vacated
    To attend and vote….this would mean that the whole
    School board is “out of order”…if she wants to attend
    The meeting, she is welcome to attend in the audience
    And should be removed & arrested for trespassing by law enforcement if she become disruptive after warning.

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