TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) 鈥 A former state employee who said he leaked information about the plans to build golf courses and hotels in Florida鈥檚 state parks has apparently been fired.
But James Gaddis, who described himself as an 鈥渆thical whistleblower,鈥 said he doesn鈥檛 regret making the public aware of the , according to the .
鈥淚 just happen to be a guy in the middle of all this and the clock was ticking, and I figured someone has to step up to the plate and stop the madness,鈥 Gaddis told the newspaper.
Gaddis, who worked as a cartographer for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, said he was directed to draw up conceptual maps for the to build golf courses, pickleball courts, 350-room hotels and more at nine state parks from Miami to the Panhandle.
Tasked with illustrating the plans to build sprawling developments in some of Florida鈥檚 most pristine habitats 鈥 some of which are 鈥 Gaddis said he snapped.
鈥淚 was drawing the golf course polygons and putting a point down where the hotel was going to go in Anastasia State Park (near St. Augustine) and I was already disgusted but it just kept getting worse and worse,鈥 Gaddis said. 鈥淚 said, 鈥榃hat I am mapping out here is too bad and too egregious and I can鈥檛 take this anymore.鈥欌
Gaddis said he wrote up a summary of the proposals on his work computer and shared it, helping spark and massive against the plans, which the department has since withdrawn. Last week, calling the initiative 鈥渉alf-baked鈥 and 鈥渘ot ready for prime time鈥.
After leaking the information, Gaddis was put on administrative leave on Aug. 30. The next day, he got a letter of dismissal in the mail saying he violated department policies.
A spokesperson for DEP did not respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.
A single father of an 11-year-old, Gaddis is being applauded as a hero on social media by opponents of the proposed development. As of Tuesday afternoon, a page created by Gaddis had raised more than $100,000.
A state salary has his annual salary listed at $49,346.04
