Gov. Ron DeSantis lambasted a South Florida city that decided it will no longer fund its signature St. Patrick's Day parade because of the state's new anti-DEI law, calling it "malicious compliance."
Elected officials representing Delray Beach were not amused by Desantis' broadside. They said the DEI law and now the criticism itself was another example of Tallahassee's erosion of home rule and flew in the face of Republican lawmakers' mandate that municipalities find ways to cut back since the passing of the Amendment 3 property tax cut on Nov. 3.
"Delray Beach is engaging in 'malicious compliance,'" DeSantis posted on the social media site X. "What they are doing is not mandated by Florida law. It’s just an attempt to make a political point —
a point that legacy media will no doubt try to amplify."
He ended the Nov. 13 post by saying, "We’ve seen these stunts throughout the years. Rinse and repeat."
Delray Beach has long been a thorn in DeSantis' side. It was one of the cities that pushed back and refused to paint over it's rainbow LGBTQ intersection when ordered to do so. The state Department of Transportation then, in the middle of night, came and turned back to black.
DeSantis' war against rainbow crosswalks ended up eliminated all decorative crosswalks in a number of cities, such as the checkered flag one in Daytona Beach.
Senate Bill 1134, which goes into effect Jan. 1, prohibits counties and municipalities from funding, promoting, organizing, or taking official action on activities defined as diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), including programs or heritage events designed or implemented with reference to ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender.
DeSantis said, when signing the bill in April,that Floridians should not have to pay for "identity politics with their hard-earned tax dollars."
Why did Delray Beach announce it was canceling its popular St. Patrick's Day parade?
Delray Beach announced Nov. 10on social media it will no longer host the event. City elected-officials say they are hopeful that it will be fund through private businesses and other means. The decision made national news and DeSantis took note when ABC's Good Morning America posted about it on social media.
Delray Beach is engaging in “malicious compliance.”
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) November 13, 2026
What they are doing is not mandated by Florida law. It’s just an attempt to make a political point — a point that legacy media will no doubt try to amplify.
We’ve seen these stunts throughout the years. Rinse and repeat. https://t.co/vZY2oL6SXF
"So he can call it malicious compliance all he wants, but I would say this is malicious legislation in the first place," said Democratic state Rep. Rob Long, whose District 90 includes Delray Beach.
Long said SB1134 specifically restricts taxpayer-funded programming involving ethnicity, while carving out exemptions for federal and state holidays like Christmas and Martin Luther King celebrations.
"So if you have the governor ridiculing the city that this city law harms and calling them malicious for being cautious because literally the penalties are for the removal of office of the elected officials," he said.
The parade brings, at last estimate, up to 100,000 people to the Palm Beach County tourist and restaurant mecca. He noted Delray Beach Mayor Tom Carney is a Republican, as well as of Irish descent, who has said his family helped start the parade by underwriting it. The city has also stopped funding its LGBTQ pride festival.
"Compliance to make a political point with an event that's been going on for decades and brings millions of dollars into our city? Of course not," Long said. "No one wanted to cancel this."
Delray Beach Commissioner Judy Mollica said the city acted not out of maliciousness but on the advice of its attorney. "The frightening thing about SB 1134 is that it gives any citizen the right to sue its municipality," she said.
She also said it was just another distraction by DeSantis from real problems Floridians face: "Everybody is losing their mind over this. We've got ICE raids, affordability issues, people losing their insurance, and by God, we're upset about St. Patrick's Day parade."
Commissioner Juli Casale said the issue isn't about St. Patrick's Day parade, but a municipality taking matters into its own hands and determining what is best course.
"The issue is much bigger than any one parade or piece of legislation," she said. "Florida's Constitution provides for municipal home rule, yet increasingly, state legislation is eroding that authority."
Casale said the city has identified a private-funding source for the parade. "That's why this whole 'the parade is canceled' thing was so bizarre to me because it was never canceled. We're just lateralizing who's paying for it to a private vendor, which is better for the taxpayers anyway.
Critics pounced on DeSantis' social media post. "Are you saying that the Irish are a protected minority, but the others aren’t? Please explain," replied Grant Stern, a political pundit and executive editor of Occupy Democrats.
Thomas Kennedy, an advocate at the Florida Immigration Coalition, added, "You created this through your stupid legislation eroding home rule, and now are trying to pick and choose enforcement, which you only like when it applies to bullying and hurting people."
John Pacenti is the Government Impact Reporter for The USA TODAY NETWORK-FLORIDA. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY, at https://palmbeachpost.com/newsletters.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida city won't fund St. Patrick's Day Parade after anti-DEI law
