Former Attorney General candidate weighs in on DeSantis’ suspension of Hillsborough’s state attorney

Share
Sean Shaw on Primary Election Day, 2018
Sean Shaw on Primary Election Day, 2018. By Seán Kinane / WMNF News.

Last Thursday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis sent shock waves across the state with an action he took in Hillsborough County. DeSantis suspended the elected State Attorney, Andrew Warren.

Sean Shaw on WMNF’s Tuesday Café

On WMNF’s Tuesday Café on 9 August 2022, we heard parts of a speech from DeSantis about why he made the surprising move. And we heard what critics of the decision have to say – including a statement that Warren released over the weekend. Warren said that he was “illegally removed” and that DeSantis was trying to “overthrow democracy.”

Our guest was former State Representative Sean Shaw (D-Tampa). He was the 2018 Democratic nominee for Attorney General and the former Florida Insurance Consumer Advocate.

Shaw told WMNF he was “shocked” when he heard the news that DeSantis had suspended Warren.

DeSantis’ reasons for suspending Warren

DeSantis’ executive order focuses on how he signed on to statements from prosecutors around the nation pledging that they won’t pursue criminal cases against people who seek or provide abortions or gender transition treatments.

It’s worth noting that Florida does not have a law against treatments for gender transition. In addition, a judge ruled that Florida’s new 15-week abortion ban violates the state constitution.

Support for DeSantis’ decision

We played clips from last Thursday’s press conference in which DeSantis announced the suspension. We heard from the governor, Attorney General Ashley Moody and former Tampa Police Chief Brian Doogan.

Doogan said he feels like he and his wife should be able to go out to dinner at night in our community without fearing they’re going to get “jacked.”

Shaw responded to that by telling WMNF, “Thank God Doogan is not Chief anymore.”

Listen to the full show here:

Watch the full show here:

WMNF’s Tuesday Café

You can listen to WMNF’s Tuesday Café at 10:06 a.m. ET on 88.5 FM in Tampa Bay, on wmnf.org or on the WMNF Community Radio app.

Leave a Reply

  • (will not be published)

XHTML: You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

You may also like

Ahead of the fifth anniversary of George Floyd’s murder, Tampa protestors prepare to rally again

Listen: This weekend will mark the fifth anniversary of the...

2025 Hurricane Season Outlook FPREN
The National Hurricane Center predicts above-average activity this 2025 hurricane season

National Hurricane Center: 2025 expected above-average activity; 13-19 named tropical...

The Scoop: Thur. May 22, 2025, Tampa Bay and Florida headlines by WMNF

WMNF headlines including bear hunting, book removal from schools, children's...

education
Ron DeSantis signs a bill addressing training for school security guards and other measures

The bill requires that school security guard training be conducted...

Ways to listen

WMNF is listener-supported. That means we don't advertise like a commercial station, and we're not part of a university.

Ways to support

WMNF volunteers have fun providing a variety of needed services to keep your community radio station alive and kickin'.

Maybe Partying Will Help
Maybe Partying Will Help