Gov. Ron DeSantis takes aim at opponent Charlie Crist's running mate
MIAMI – In a press conference Tuesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis took aim at opponent Charlie Crist's running mate, Karla Hernandez. She is the current President of the United Teachers of Dade.
The Governor claimed she protected former Brownsville Middle School P.E. teacher Wendell Nibbs, who, in 2020, pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting multiple students between the ages of 12 and 17.
"Her Union protected him, knowing he represented a threat to students in middle school classrooms," Governor DeSantis said. "He abused, and he abused, and he abused. He finally got caught, and he's finally in prison, but they care more about the power of their Union than they did about the best interest of these kids."
Crist's Campaign Communications director, Samantha Ramirez, responded with a statement saying:
"It's a lie. And to top it off, it's coming from a governor whose own campaign was led by accused child sexual predator Matt Gaetz, and whose disgusting actions DeSantis still refuses to condemn. While Ron DeSantis shields sexual predators in his own party, Karla Hernández is a former special needs teacher who has devoted her life to serving the people of her community."
Nibbs was a member of the United Teachers of Dade.
Accusations against him date back as far as 2004, and police began their official investigation in 2015. He was ultimately arrested in 2017.
Hernandez was named President of the UTD in mid-2016 and served as Treasurer before that. Ramirez noted the UTD has no investigative role when an allegation is made against a union member and has no role in the hiring or firing of teachers.
In his remarks, the Governor also made other accusations against Hernandez:
"This running mate that he picked from down in Miami," he said, "Who is a teacher union boss and sympathetic to Fidel Castro-- it was unbelievable to see that tweet-- worked tooth and nail to lock kids out of school in 2020."
The tweet the Governor referenced read: "A political figure dies at 90. Most in Miami rejoice, many in Cuba mourn #FidelCastro"
At a campaign event Saturday, someone displayed that tweet on an electronic sign outside.
Hernandez addressed it on that day, telling CBS4: "When Castro died, I was celebrating out in the streets with pots and pans with all my colleagues. Not just my colleagues, but my neighbors."