Melissa Meeker, Former Charlie Crist Appointee, Named Executive Director of SFWMD

Melissa Meeker was named executive director of the South Florida Water Management District on Thursday, a month after Carole Wehle, the district's previous leader, resigned in a swirl of scandal.

Meeker is a former board member, a Charlie Crist appointee and a contributor to the gubernatorial campaign of Alex Sink. She served on the board between 2007 and 2009, when Crist was heavily involved in deal-making with U.S. Sugar Corp.

Meeker nevertheless takes over under the umbrella of Sink's opponent, Gov. Rick Scott, and will have to lead the largest of the five water management districts as $100 million in budget cuts and closer governor's office scrutiny are imposed.

She will assume her new job less than two months after she was appointed to an administrative position in the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. It is the DEP that oversees Florida's five water management districts.

In making the appointment, no board member expressed a concern that Meeker's lack of technical expertise would present a problem in her new job at the $1 billion WMD. In fact, said new board member Jim Moran, "I'm optimistic that (Meeker) will lead the district in the new direction we hope to proceed."

That new direction is largely undefined.

New board members announced by Scott's office on Monday are as follows:

• Daniel DeLisi, 37, of Estero, is a self-employed planning and engineering consultant. He is appointed to represent Collier, Lee, Hendry and Charlotte counties for a term beginning May 10, 2011, and ending March 1, 2015.
• Jim Moran, 63, of West Palm Beach, is a self-employed attorney. He is appointed to represent Palm Beach County for a term beginning May 10, 2011, and ending March 1, 2015.
• Daniel OKeefe, 43, of Windermere, is an attorney with Shutts and Bowan LLP. He is appointed to represent Glades, Okeechobee, Highlands, Polk, Orange and Osceola counties for a term beginning May 10, 2011, and ending March 1, 2012.
• Timothy Sargent, 41, of West Palm Beach, is the director of tax and operating company chief financial officer for Huizenga Holdings Inc. He is appointed as an at-large member for a term beginning May 10, 2011, and ending March 1, 2014.
• Glenn Waldman, 51, of Weston, is a self-employed attorney. He is appointed to represent Broward County for a term beginning May 9, 2011, and ending March 1, 2014.

Scott had been critical of district spending under Wehle, especially the district's $197 million land deal in October to buy 26,800 acres from U.S. Sugar Corp. The land is virtually unusable for Everglades restoration for at least a decade.