Jane MusgraveAppointment comes a day before Shannon Ramsey-Chessman would have taken over the job vacated by Joe Abruzzo’s move to county administrator.
State Rep. Mike Caruso, R-West Palm Beach, on Monday was tapped by Gov. Ron DeSantis to replace Palm Beach County Clerk and Comptroller Joe Abruzzo.
The announcement came a day before Abruzzo was set to begin his $425,000 job as county administrator and less than a week after Chief Deputy Clerk Shannon Ramsey-Chessman was named as Abruzzo’s temporary replacement.
Ramsey-Chessman, who dropped out of the 2020 clerk’s race when Abruzzo announced his candidacy, won’t get the chance to run the office even briefly.
Caruso is scheduled to be sworn into office at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday via Zoom by Chief Judge Glenn Kelley — a minute after Abruzzo’s resignation goes into effect. By law, the clerk’s office can’t be vacant.
Caruso, a certified public accountant, resigned his state House seat Monday representing a large swath of the county along the coast.
In an interview with Stet News, he said he is uniquely qualified for the job.
“If you look at my background as a forensic accountant, auditor and tax preparer, this is what I’ve been doing my whole career,” he said. “There will be a short learning curve.”
‘Principled and results-driven’
The appointment wasn’t unexpected. The four-term lawmaker, who faces term limits in 2026, defended DeSantis when infighting broke out between the governor and GOP leaders during the legislative session.
He was on the shortlist of DeSantis’ picks to replace Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez, who left in February to become president of Florida International University.
When DeSantis last week named state Sen. Jay Collins, R-Tampa, as his second in command, insiders expected Caruso would get the clerk’s job.
In a letter Caruso posted on X, DeSantis lauded Caruso as a “principled and results-driven lawmaker.”
Caruso, who was first elected to the Florida House in 2018, promised to bring the same skills to the clerk’s office.
“This is a great responsibility, a great position and I’m back home and I can still serve the same constituents I’ve been serving for seven years,” he said.
He pledged to work with Abruzzo, a Democrat and former state lawmaker, to replace outdated technology and embrace digital record keeping. Abruzzo, who said he worked to eliminate paper records during his five years as clerk, has pledged to do the same for county government.
The appointment means a special election will be held to fill the year left on Caruso’s legislative term. His wife, Tracy, has already been campaigning to replace him to represent the sprawling district from Hypoluxo to Jupiter that includes many of the county’s largest cities.
He acknowledged she was excited about the prospect. “She won’t have to wait until November 2026,” he said.
