Can Sen. Gary Farmer Keep His Mouth Shut?
BY BUDDY NEVINS
State Sen. Gary Farmer has made a name for himself in Tallahassee.
He has been all-elbows, angrily pushing aside and criticizing fellow Democrats .
Gary Farmer
He questioned whether State Sen. Lauren Book, a Broward Democratic colleague, was too burdened with her twins to be an effective Senate Democratic Leader.
“I’m tired of Gary picking on women,” Sen. Janet Cruz snapped back, according to the Sun-Sentinel.
(Let’s seeing with those comments about Book cost him the support of Democratic women organizations. Don’t bet on it.)
He didn’t stop at Sen. Book. He blasted other Democrats for not being partisan enough. His colleagues were allegedly going along with Republicans too often.
Farmer annoyed fellow Democrats so much that they dumped him as their Senate leader. They replaced Farmer with Book, the victim of his misogynistic remark!
Now this paragon of inflammatory language is running for judge.
Ain’t Broward politics great?
I fear that Farmer is a judicial ethics complaint waiting to happen.
The Florida Supreme Court’s rules of conduct for judges and judicial candidates states:
Judicial candidates “shall maintain the dignity appropriate to judicial office and act in a manner consistent with the impartiality, integrity, and independence of the judiciary, and shall encourage members of the candidate’s family to adhere to the same standards.”
Specifically, the rules say:
- Judicial candidates can’t express a position on “any political issue.”
- A candidate can’t label themselves a Democrat in speeches or in ads.
- A candidate can’t attend party events unless all candidates are invited.
How is Gary Farmer, who loudly proclaimed he was a Democratic partisan, going to handle the Supreme’s muzzle?
There is an old legal saying that when the law isn’t your side, pound the table. Farmer basically used the same tactic in Tallahassee.
The votes weren’t on his side in the Senate, so he pounded the table and sprouted partisan bombast.
Now Farmer must suddenly do something he has found it hard to do in the state Senate: Keep his mouth shut.
I have my doubts. So does the Sun-Sentinel.
An article last week noted that Farmer gave a fiery speech excoriating fellow Democrats for not being partisan enough. He gave the speech one day before he jumped into a judicial race.
“Judicial temperament?” glared one of the subheads in the article with a big question mark.
Exactly.
May 1st, 2022 at 1:38 pm
He is going to walk into that seat with basically no competition. I see him quiet to achieve this. Will be his easiest race yet.
May 2nd, 2022 at 10:39 am
Anybody who has met him know he is arrogant. He will have the arrogance long before taking office unlike other judges who wait until they win.
May 2nd, 2022 at 10:46 am
Since I posted this I have heard talk in political circles that Gary Farmer is running for judge as a stepping stone for running for sheriff. Being on the bench would wash away the stain of partisan politics and position him better for a campaign for Broward Sheriff.
A spokesperson for Farmer laughingly called me after reading my first comments on the speculation, calling it ridiculous. “Who stays up at night dreaming up this stuff?” the spokesperson said.
It does seem a little far-fetched to me.
First of all, we have a Democratic sheriff.
Second, being a judge would play into Farmer’s whole life experience as a trial attorney and the son of a former Appeals Court judge.
Third, the salaries are roughly the same. But being sheriff is a 24/7 job. The sheriff must administer thousands of employees and face the unpredictability of everything from hurricanes to crime. Doesn’t it seem that being a judge is a better job than sheriff?
…Buddy
May 2nd, 2022 at 2:00 pm
I have a different view of Mr. Farmer. I think his advocacy of Democratic ideals will serve him well in Broward County, especially in a primary that will have the turnout of many more Democrats than Republicans. Most of the Democrats in Tallahassee are Democratic in name only. Not Gary Farmer and voters will know that.
May 2nd, 2022 at 4:21 pm
I think that conflating some comment with Gary Farmer’s ability to be an able jurist is just ridiculous. His experience as a lawyer is what I would look at and, based on that, I think he will make a fine judge. I wish him luck.
May 3rd, 2022 at 7:26 am
He blasted other Democrats for not being partisan enough.
I think Farmer was being critical of fellow Democrats who have soft-pedaled their opposition to GOP initiatives for fear of DeSantis vetoing their local appropriation bills. That and the attitude that “why bother, my vote doesn’t matter.” I think he was telling hem to stand for something, not necessarily to be partisan for its own sake.
May 3rd, 2022 at 9:31 am
It was awful what he stated about the Democrats.They r enablers to the Republican in Tallahassee house etc.I mean if Democrats r so bad,then why doesn’t Mr.Farmer change political parties.I also agree I would rather be a judge than sheriff.I think Mayor Trantalis should run to be a judge.He be good at it.Then open up Mayor seat in Fr.lau & I can Duke it out w/ Comm.Glassman.
May 4th, 2022 at 4:24 pm
sounds like the makings of the second-coming of butterworth
May 5th, 2022 at 11:04 am
To answer your original question,”Can Gary Farmer keep his mouth shut?” I think it’s safe to say that the answer to that question is NO!
May 14th, 2022 at 6:42 pm
He’s perfect for Broward of course. The worst example of what a judge should be. Right after Parkland when they were debating the gun bill he deliberately tried to bring up something on the floor of the House that he knew couldn’t be heard because it has never been through any committee. But he made the young woman from MSD in the gallery cry when she thought it was being suppressed deliberately. That’s abusive and disgusting….