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Gov. DeSantis Appoints Jared Moskowitz, Torey Alston To Broward Commission

FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) - Governor Ron DeSantis has announced his selections to fill two open Broward commission seats.

During a stop in Fort Lauderdale, the governor said he has appointed Jared Moskowitz, former Director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, and Florida Department of Transportation Chief of Sttaff Torey Alston to fill the seats left open by Dale Holness and Barbara Sharief who resigned so they could run for Congress. Neither won their primary races.

"They're obviously both from here. They kind of live and breathe Broward County, and they both have demonstrated records of service to the community both here, locally, as well as to the state of Florida," said DeSantis.

Moskowitz, a native of Coral Springs, resigned from FDERM in February after leading the state's response to storms and the pandemic.

"He was instrumental in all things emergency response. He really improved the agency in so many different ways and made a great impact on a lot of people who are recovering from storms, people needed help with COVID," said DeSantis.

"Thank you for having the confidence in me yet again. First as the Director of Emergency Management in your administration and now as a Broward County Commissioner, let's just hope that this appointment is nowhere near as eventful as the last job you gave me," said Moskowitz.

He said he left as FDERM director because he was spending too much time away from his family.

"I am humbled by this opportunity the governor has afforded me to both continue my public service, but be at home," he said.

The governor said in the early days of the pandemic, Broward was the first part of the state where they started seeing cases.

"We brought, the first in the country to do that, to mobilize the National Guard to do these big testing sites. Jared oversaw that. You actually had National Guard generals that would come down and look at that. and then they would then report to other states to try to do that. So that was not only Jared, but that was actually right here in Broward County," said Desantis.

He added that Florida was the first state to bring vaccines directly to nursing homes and Moskowitz oversaw that as well.

"I think that he's somebody who is always looking to kind of do the right thing by the people that he serves. That's something that we really, really appreciate," said DeSantis.

Moskowitz has been appointed to Sharief's District 8 seat, which will be up for election next November.

WATCH: Jared Moskowitz Remarks On Being Appointed To The Commission

Alston, who went to high school in Pompano Beach, got his MBA from Florida A&M University. Previously, he was Chief of Staff to two Broward County Commissioners and held positions in Miami Dade County Public Schools, the City of Gainesville and the Florida Department of Management Services. For the last two years, he was served as FDOT's Chief of Staff.

"He is currently the Chief of Staff for the Florida Department of Transportation and he's been doing a great job there. People will who do business in other states will always compliment Florida on how well our FDOT is run relative to other states. During the pandemic, we were able to actually accelerate some key projects," said DeSantis.

"Thank you governor for this appointment to the Broward County Commission. Thank you for your vote of confidence in my leadership. I am ready to roll up my sleeves and serve the people of Broward County and District 9," said Alston.

"I know our community, I know our issues, and I'll be a strong voice on the county commission as a husband, father, and proud business owner. To sum it all up I know District 9 and District 9 knows me," he added.

WATCH: Torey Alston Remarks On Being Appointed To The Commission

The governor said he is confident Alston will be instrumental in the commission.

"We appreciate what he's done in service. I know he's somebody that's respected across the board here in the community, and is somebody that's proven that he has the ability to work with people, regardless of political party, which is very, very important," said DeSantis.

The governor pointed out that Alston's wife Candace was starting a new local business and their two children are already going to school in Broward.

Alston's term runs through November 2024.

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