Ron DeSantis' GRU Authority is planning to give a sweetheart deal to their former chair. On Wednesday, they are voting on whether to give the highest salary in Gainesville’s history to an unelected, former politician.

Here are some of the details of the contract:

• $332,061–the highest salary in the HISTORY of the City of Gainesville.
• Extravagant benefits.
• A golden parachute for when he's let go. Specifically, he is guaranteed over a $125,000 payment if Gainesville voters vote Yes to abolish the GRU Authority.
• A permanent position with no competitive search.

This is obscene. The new CEO was a DeSantis-appointed member of the Authority. In June, he used his public office to orchestrate the firing of a 22-year GRU employee, Tony Cunningham, and placed himself into the position. Now this Authority is going to give him a huge payday and benefits, while balancing it on the backs of GRU ratepayers and employees.

The Alachua County Labor Coalition is demanding the GRU Authority say NO to this sweetheart deal.

Here are our demands

• Drastically reduce the CEO’s exorbitant $332,061 salary
• Make the CEO interim and perform an open and transparent national search for the most qualified candidate
• Remove the CEO’s severance pay if the Authority is abolished
• Use the savings to lower our GRU rates

Send the GRU Authority an email and tell them to vote for transparency and responsibility, not sweetheart deals for former politicians.