Florida’s director of economic opportunity, Ken Lawson, has resigned months after being stripped of his oversight of its glitch-ridden unemployment system, which left hundreds of thousands of people waiting weeks for benefits after losing their jobs.

Ken Lawson’s resignation letter said he was leaving his post Monday “in the spirit of turning the page and moving forward.”

Florida’s unemployment system was among the slowest in the country to respond to the surge in unemployment as the pandemic sidelined key sectors of the state’s economy, including bars, restaurants and tourism.

The number of unemployed people overwhelmed the state’s benefits system. Lawson had publicly apologized for the distress that caused the newly unemployed.

Prior to his tenure at Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO), to which he was appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis in January 2020, Lawson was the surprise choice to replace Will Seccombe as CEO at Visit Florida following the fiasco over contracts signed by Visit Florida with entertainer Armando Christian Perez, better known as Pitbull, and others to promote the State.

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