Today we’re taking a look at how Florida’s attorney general is once again fighting to keep secrets about how public officials conduct public business.

But before we get to our daily dose of maddening politics, let’s first talk about something upbeat.

Every Thanksgiving, I turn to readers for help compiling a list of “101 Things to Love about Central Florida.” This year will mark the 15th installment of this annual exercise in gratitude, and once again, I need your ideas.

What are the things you love most about living here?

The special outdoor spots you visit when you want to escape. The cultural attractions that keep you entertained. The restaurants you love and even the unique dishes you’re pretty sure you can’t get anywhere else.

Think about the institutions that make you proud, the individuals who inspire you and the things you like to show off to visitors when they come to town.

Whatever you like most about this region we all call home, feel free to let me know at smaxwell@orlandosentinel.com

Now back to our regularly scheduled nonsense.

Fighting for more secrecy

It’s no secret that Florida’s unelected attorney general, James Uthmeier, is no fan of open government.

This is a guy who spent two years trying to hide cell phone records related to public business from the public, even after a judge ordered him to turn them over. A guy who likes transparency about as much as vampires like holy water.

Florida’s new attorney general: An advocate for secrecy in government | Commentary

But Uthmeier, whom Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed A.G. after Ashley Moody left for the U.S. Senate, is now putting his push for secrecy on steroids — arguing that public agencies in Florida shouldn’t have to let the public know precisely what they’re voting on before they do so.

The case involves Donald Trump’s new presidential library. And you can be a fan of Trump and still think this case stinks like a skunk on an all-bean-burrito diet.

The story started back in September when Uthmeier got word that his chances of holding onto the AG’s office were dimming as word leaked that the White House was urging GOP House Speaker Daniel Perez to run against him.

The news was catastrophic for Uthmeier’s political ambitions. After all, most Republicans can’t get elected dogcatcher in Florida if Trump is backing their opponent.

But then, just three weeks after that story got out, something unexpected happened: The trustees at Miami Dade College voted to give up 2.6 acres of land as a site for Trump’s future presidential library — without giving the public advance notice, according to the Miami Herald.

Uthmeier and his peers on the Florida Cabinet then sealed the deal with Trump’s son, Eric, thanking Uthmeier, along with DeSantis, for helping make the deal happen.

One week later, Donald Trump endorsed James Uthmeier

So to recap: First we read that Trump was sending word to Florida that he was ready to kick Uthmeier out of office. Then we read that Uthmeier helped Trump get land for his presidential library. Then we read that Trump decided to endorse Uthmeier.

Maybe all of those things are unconnected. Maybe my abs are so shredded, you could use ‘em to grate cheese.

What we know for sure is that this deal for a state college to give Trump land for his presidential library came out of nowhere with no notice — and that’s the problem.

A judge in Miami temporarily blocked the deal, agreeing with a Miami-based naval officer-turned-history professor who argued that the college inappropriately staged the land give-away without proper notice.

But Uthmeier is trying to intervene, arguing that public boards shouldn’t have to be burdened with giving the public too many details about what they’re doing with public assets before doing so.

The Miami Herald has been all over this story like glaze on a doughnut, detailing the potential fallout of Uthmeier’s argument in its recent piece: “Florida attorney general goes to bat against transparency in Trump library case.”

Florida attorney general goes to bat against transparency in Trump library case

One of the most important points made by both the judge and legal experts: The college’s trustees could simply vote again to turn over the land — after giving proper notice to the public — and the deal would be done. Nobody could stop them.

But Uthmeier doesn’t want that publicly transparent process to take place. Instead, he’s fighting for the secretive voting process to stand, setting the precedent for other governments all over Florida to do the same.

The Herald quoted one open-government expert as saying, “This has huge ramifications for the ability of the people to know what their government is doing” and another saying, “Here we have the man who’s supposed to be defending our law and defending our rights under the law working to narrow that right of access.”

Again, you can love or loathe Donald Trump. But if you’re advocating for your own government’s ability to keep secrets from you — or supporting politicians who do — you’re being played for a fool.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/11/12/maxwell-what-do-you-love-about-central-florida/