Former County Administrator Jerry Cameron’s name is again lurking around Palm Coast City Hall as an interim possibility days after the council unanimously voted to install Assistant City Manager Lauren Johnston as its acting manager, the role required and so defined by the city charter in the absence of a permanent appointment.
The possibility is bewildering staffers at City Hall, polarizing the council, and creating confusion about Johnston’s role ahead of Tuesday evening’s council meeting, when the matters may come to a head.
The meeting agenda includes a discussion item about the “interim manager.” The council was to consider approving Johnston’s contract as acting manager. That contract is up for a vote. The contract would ensure her job security once she returns to her former role. Instead, the item may be an opening for some council members to motion for different interim altogether. At least that’s how Mayor David Alfin and Council member Ed Danko see it.
Johnston said she is prepared to serve as acting or interim, either way, as long as the city needs her. “If that’s what’s needed then I’m here to help and support,” she said. “I’m not looking for anything permanent at this time.” But she said today she sees different council members interpreting the interim/acting role differently, putting her appointment in question. “I’m confused with it as well. I think some are going that route and some aren’t,” Johnston said. “So I’m hoping for some clear direction on tomorrow evening, and I’m fine either way.”
Alfin, who was audibly hesitant with Johnston appointment, said that he called Cameron to solicit his interest in the job, and Cameron expressed interest. Alfin called him two months before he made a motion to fire Denise Bevan, the city manager until last month, even though Alfin, in an interview, said he has no familiarity with Cameron’s resume.
“I’ve never really worked with Jerry, so Jerry has expressed an interest,” Alfin said, “I’ve never been a part of his leadership program or work. I’ve never worked with him directly when he was at the county. I think that actually comes after my time.” (Cameron had organized a leadership academy that the county has kept going since.) “I’ve never really worked closely with Jerry. So could he could he be a candidate? Of course. I haven’t ruled out anybody.” Alfin said he was continuing contacts with the Florida League of Cities and the Northeast Florida Regional Council.
Council member Ed Danko also has had contact with Cameron, among others, and asked him for a list of accomplishments, as he has others. “I’ve talked with Jerry,” Danko said, “we’ve had a conversation, I’ve talked with several other people, we have to find an interim city manger.” Danko said he doesn’t know anyone who dislikes Cameron. He said he’s interested in an interim manager who will again set a budget with a tax rate set at rollback, meaning that it would largely keep the budget flat, something he said all those he has spoken with are willing to do. (The city went to rollback last September, eliminating roughly $2.8 million in revenue had the tax rate remained what it was the previous year.)
Danko and Alfin also consider the “acting” job different than an “interim” job–that Johnston was hired as an acting manager, not an interim, and that an interim has yet to be hired. “A lot of people have been confused on that,” Danko said. “It was a vote to make her acting city manager. She was not voted as the interim city manager. So the next step is interim city manager. Somebody may offer her up, I don’t now, but somebody needs to be put in there.”
Council members Nick Klufas and Theresa Pontieri disagree, seeing Johnston’s appointment, and its unanimity, as filling the position for now (and fulfilling the charter’s requirement) and enabling the council to focus on a permanent hire. (Reached by phone for an interview, Council member Cathy Heighter said she could not speak just then.)
“It doesn’t make sense to remove Lauren and put him in there,” Pontieri said of Cameron, about whom she said she had concerns, not least among them the tension he was in part responsible for in county and city relations. “It would be a terrible idea, and I would definitely and vehemently contest it.” Among her concerns: that Cameron would carry the water of an extremist faction that wants to clean hour at City Hall. “I think they see Jerry Cameron as a way to do that, and I don’t know that they’re necessarily wrong,” Pontieri said. “He needs only to be city manager for 24 hours to do that,” and “has a history o doing that at the county.”
Klufas, like Alfin, doesn’t know much about Cameron, calling his experience with him “limited.” While he doesn’t consider him “a bad guy at all,” Klufas said “it’s off-putting that we’re lobbying for individuals to move forward in this manner without having consensus from council.” He, too, was concerned about a heavy hand at City Hall. “We need a leader who’s interested to keep the ship going. I don’t think cleaning house is the right direction to travel right now.”
As for the difference between “interim” and “acting,” he didn’t see it: “I felt it was pretty unanimous that we had consensus that Lauren was capable and willing to do the interim duties,” he said. Beyond that, the council’s consensus, as he understood it, was to seek counsel from the Florida League of Cities for next steps, presumably the methods of finding a permanent city manager.
Klufas and Danko are both running for County Commission seats, so they will not be on the council after November regardless (Klufas is term-limited). The mayor’s seat is also up. Alfin is running for re-election.
Cameron, 78, is a St. Augustine resident whose political connections through County Commissioner Dave Sullivan landed him the job as Flagler County’s administrator. (Sullivan and Alfin sit on the regional council together.)
Cameron, a small-town police chief in his younger days, can be engaging and smooth in conversation, though he does not easily brook dissent or challenges. He had a checkered history during his brief tenure at the county. It included selling land to a county commissioner, attempting to segregate the homeless in a distant county camp and pushing with little transparency an ill-fated sales tax proposal with little transparency. Supervisor of Elections Kaiti Lenhard was bitterly critical of Cameron’s “contempt” for voters when he green-lighted a disruptive parking construction project during an election period. Cameron had not made friends in Palm Coast after situating a planned sheriff’s operations center on Palm Coast Parkway, then scrapping the plan.
He has no city management experience, limited and dated county management experience, and no college degree. His candidacy for interim city jobs was twice scuttled at the last minute, in Palm Coast and in Flagler Beach, in 2021 and 2023 and he previously lost an election for county commission in St. Johns.
A year ago, after heavily lobbying them even before they’d fired their manager, a prickly and defensive Jerry Cameron stood before Flagler Beach city commissioners as if behind a mound of baggage to speak about how all sorts of inaccurate things were being said of him, about the number of times he’s turned down jobs, that he had “no intent” in presenting himself to the commission, that he’d not solicited anyone for the job–it was not true: he’d met with at least three commissioners–and that he had no intention of “ending my career on the battlefield.”
But he said he was their man as interim manager “in the right circumstances.” Sullivan sat in the audience.
Unlike other candidates, who detailed their credentials and work methods, Cameron didn’t tell commissioner why he would be the right man, or what he brought to the job that made him stand out. Commissioners were not impressed, as some of them had no been even in their one-on-one meetings with him. He did not make the shortlist. The Flagler Beah commission, trying to move past the firing of William Whitson days before, eventually hired Mike Abels, the long-time city manager in DeLand. Abels gave the city six months and by all commissioners’ accounts bridged the time between Whitson and current Manager Dale Martin brilliantly, efficiently, and without an ounce of political baggage. (See: “Ex-County Administrator Cameron Has Been Lobbying for Flagler Beach Job Since Before Whitson’s Firing,” and “Flagler Beach Commission Narrows Interim Choices to 3, Eliminating Cameron.”)
Cameron’s name had similarly circulated in Palm Coast after City Manager Matt Morton resigned in 2021 and the City Council was hunting for an acting manager. Then-Fire Chief Jerry Forte, whose counsel weighed more than anyone’s in city ranks, pre-empted any possibility of a Cameron tenure when he supported Bevan.
I’ve never even seen Jerry Cameron’s resume, so I have to be honest, I’m not there yet,” Alfin said. “I’m absolutely going to look at all of the possibilities with the most open mind I possibly can.”
Deborah Coffey says
We can’t trust Danko and Alfin. And, we certainly don’t need a St. Augustine resident! I’m with Kaiti…NO to Cameron!
David Schaefer says
I don’t trust anyone on the city council as well as an St Augustine resident who is 78 years old…..
Icanseertthruya says
This man Jerry, ran for a position in St Augustine and lost. He was a consultant for Flagler Hospital, now called Flagler Enterprises. He has a bad reputation in that town so now he’s coming to infiltrate Palm Coast. God help us.
Listen to me says
Inside ball here…. Danko is installing him to get promised money from Joe Mullins who Jerry Cameron tells others is his “ adopted son” who he mentors.
The chamber folk want Jerry because he will do back room deals. He did it all the time at the county. Church on the rock? The Pastor J church ( office there)( think Mullins best friend)church gets $6k a month to rent a room two hours a day to free microwave meals to seniors by county staff! It’s also full of roaches so no seniors go there now. But what a way to save a failing church for Joe’s friend. The screw up on Captain’s? It was him who screwed the county up in negotiations. He golfs with commissioners and keeps rubbing elbows where he can. He doesn’t live in this county but he is more than willing to f*ck it up in a hot second. He withheld public records routinely, in fact he tampered in a murder investigation in St John’s county by withholding public records there. Oh and he is Biden in the basement. He’s hardly there mentally any longer.
Fire Danko and fire Alfin.
Icanseertthruya says
Agree!!
Denise Calderwood says
Jerry Cameron has had his time in the sunlight in Flagler County. It is now time for him to be sunsetted. Jerry enjoy the beautiful Senior centers that St Johns County offers it residents. Since we don’t have any of those is that why your still trying to put your name forward for consideration? Please enough is enough stay in St Johns or go forward helping your friend and co conspirator Joe Mullins …. Accomplish whatever your trying to do behind the scenes.
Laurie Annette says
Newsflash! Palm Coast “lost it” a long time ago. I moved our of there in 2020, no regrets!
Lynne says
I’m with you, Laurie – I left in 2017. Talk about no planning, no forward thinking – just a bunch of punting to accommodate private goals. I’m so glad I”m gone….
Steve says
I left in 2020 as well after my Family either passed on or moved as well .Zero regret
Joe D says
What a mess! Looks like dealing with a high school Student Council!
It would hilarious if it didn’t involve Millions of tax dollars, and legislation affecting the area for decades to come!
Jim says
Why would Cameron make a good interim city manager? No experience in city management, a very questionable time in the county management structure and absolutely nothing beyond that to even make him a person of interest? Unless of course you’re interested in bringing in a ringer to clean house in the city employees! And I think that is exactly what is being considered. This was probably the intention at the time they fired the city manager! Danko is gone anyway (hopefully gone, gone….) and Alfin may have realized by now that he’s got very little chance of getting reelected. Why not burn it all down on the way out the door? What a disgrace this “leadership team” is.
Pogo says
@Jim
The winning entry.
Related
https://www.google.com/search?q=purge
Villein says
Yes. They want to clean house on the employees who could potentially file a whistleblower complaint. Old Jerry comes in says he’s found some cost savings and eliminates some positions- anyone who won’t play ball, folks with no ethics.
Then- no matter who might win in the election, there’s no one left to do the right thing in city positions.
Talk of replacing the bad politicians isn’t going to prevent the damage they’re going to do now in plain sight.
There’s a lot of money to be made, by someone, and they’re doing everything possible to ensure they can make it. And it will not benefit the city or its residents.
Celia Pugliese says
NO to Cameron please!! I totally agree with councilwoman Theresa Pontieri!! Cameron was the manager when he, they decided to do away with a good FIN Flagler Airport “Advisory Board/Committee” because they were just sympathetic to the valid complaints of the abused residents specially adjacent to the airport in Quail Hollow and Seminole Woods demanding a stop practicing touch and goes over their homes among other vert unsafe things. Also there was a real estate dial while he was the county manager between him and commissioner Joe Mullins in St Johns County. Is that a conflict of interest ? if not at least is unethical: https://flaglerlive.com/cameron-mullins-land-deal/#google_vignette
Gina Weiss says
Right Celia,
Hey Jerry what had happenned to the new rewritten bylaws for the revised
airport advisory comittee that you disbanded at a workshop meeting in 2019???
you are mentioned at that meetings saying that you will instruct Hadeed to
start rewritting the bylaws because the ones back then were weak and did not
help the advisory committee , well you have had a 4 year head start from 2019 and still
no airport advisory committee was established, Heidi Petito had one meeting via
zoom and that was it, so you have left residents in our communities without
a complaint portal hot line and no airport advisory committee, very well crafted
by you and you also said that you never want what had happenned back then with
Siegers own advisory committee members that went against him to ever happen
again ,now we realize what those words really meant which is NO TRANSPARENCY
as residents we are completely shut down with no where to go to make complaints.,
so this is where we are at now a big mess indeed.
Nephew Of Uncle Sam says
Something is rotten in Palm Coast and it’s not the cheese.
endangered species says
not just PC but the whole state of Florida and even other states with similar “small man” racist style governors. Too many oldies are too prideful to admit they been duped by their own party so they double down on hate and inequality. The fake elector plot could work this year, enjoy the race to the bottom.
Billy says
This town is a corrupt real estate development scam city!
Bobby says
That is the reason Alfin ran for Mayor. The development scammer of PC. Get this clown out of town before he does more damage.
Tired says
Until I tuned into the Joint Public Safety meeting with the Sheriff’s Office, Flagler County and City of Palm Coast I failed to put he pieces together. Why would the Assistant City Manager do the presentation of data compiled by an independent 3rd party? She, and Cameron are both connected to the SO. There is a small political group in Flagler County pulling all the strings, why won’t they show their faces?
Tammany Hall says
This is the Boss Tweed of Flagler/ St. Johns County. He makes deals for his friends.
Before he left he gave a deal the the Joe Mullins so called friend Pastor J. She is collecting 6k a month to host a BS lunch program at Church of the Rock.
Nobody goes there what a scam. Cameron put it together, for Mullins
What about the land swap this guy did with Mullins.
Cameron can’t be trusted, the City Council shouldn’t be conned.
Living here just gets worse with this type of good old boy .
Tammany Hall in Flagler County says
It’s interesting how one name seems to come up a lot in Flagler County.
That’s the name of “Pastor J” aka “The Fake Pastor” aka the woman with a criminal record and mugshot. She’s closely connected to Joe Mullins. Connected to Sharon Demers, Jill Woolbright and Kathy Austrino (running for PC City Council District 1). Kathy Austrino was on the bandwagon with Alan Lowe when they tried to destroy the Flagler Youth Orchestra and Cheryl Tristam.
The above names are connected with the installation of the current school board members Will Furry, Christy Chong and Sally Hunt. Plus Cathy Heighter who is currently on the Palm Coast City Council.
The dirt runs very deep. They used to operate out in the open as the Flagler Conservative Pachyderms. However, when people began to catch on, they went underground here in Flagler County and now operate a private Facebook group that only their group can enter.
So in addition to causing a lot of the political turmoil in Flagler County, including Flagler Schools, and running and installing her (their) own candidates, “Pastor J” aka the “Fake Pastor” is also getting $6000.00 a month from the county for the fake Church on the Rock on US-1. Church on the Rock, or whatever it’s called now, is a privately held business entity covered from taxes by it’s name, “Church” on the Rock. Good business to have isn’t it? Tax free because it’s “a church”.
Make sure you know who you’re voting for.
FlaglerLive says
The comment above includes inaccuracies. The Church on the Rock is currently paid $3,200 a month. As of April 5 records, the church was still under the ownership of David Lent and Todd Kramer, according to Division of Corporations records, with James Belino as pastor and CEO. Belino was the pastor when the county forged its agreement with Church on the Rock in 2021.
TREEMAN says
RINO Alfuk and Dumko are the SWAMP SCUMBAGS continuing SCREWING the Palm Coast Taxpayers!!!!
JULES KWIATKOWSKI says
CAMERON TRIED GET RID OF THE EAST FLAGLER MOSQUITO CONTROL DISTRICT BY GIVING IT TO ST. JOHNS COUNTY
Robert Cuff says
This is a BAD IDEA for Palm Coast residents and City Staff. Mr. Cameron brings nothing the table beyond the apparent willingness to do the will of some current and former elected officials. That is not the job of a professional City Manager, particularly in an election year. If a majority of City Council, after public discussion, believe an “Interim” other than our current Acting CM is needed, the search should be conducted in the Sunshine and not through individual, back door offers to a good old boy some Council members apparently believe can be relied on to carry their political water for them.
Celia Pugliese says
Agreed but also the residents do not want the chief of staff making decisions as to hire more staff at six figures pay as the city has too many Chiefs and very few Indians doing the service for the residents taxes paid on a 2024 very tight budget. No money to repave our roads, no money to preserve the pool membership of 1078 PC residents. Public works and utilities specially storm water understaffed. Mr. Flanagan made a escape goat moved to the side by whom… DeLorenzo ? for telling us like it is that the proposed utility rate needed was because growth mostly? Someone comes and tell it like it is warning us of what we are being exposed too and is demoted or fired ? Manager Bevan for the same reason cause brought the utility study on an election year? At least she was approachable to us residents and wanted to hear our concerns in meets and always she defended her staff. We need to work together to resolve these issues even after errors made.
One more concern now are they going also to allow to build the Wawa on a hill in the center of Palm Coast Parkway making the parkway even more prone to flood that is now in the corner of Florida Park Drive. Have any city building inspector checked the mountains of fill just delivered? Now we do not have Ms. Bevan to blame for it so is the same community development official in charge of that?
Tired of it says
Backroom deals, Mullins lurking in the background, Cameron was not good for Pal Coast the last time around. Alfin knows he has no chance of getting re elected, hence the firing of the city manager for no cause. He wants to put in one of his cronies who will do his bidding. Do you rally want Danko and Mullins pulling the strings? The corruption never ends with these Republicans.
Duane says
It is a violation of the ICMA code of ethics for any professional manger to be involved with a commissioner or council to discuss replacing a sitting manager. Cameron is probably NOT a member of the ICMA or the FCCMA so he probably feels he does not have to comply with the code of ethics. Alfin, on the other hand, behaves like he is from some organized crime group and he thinks he the big shot. He is not and will see that after the next election.
Lauren Johnson, with little to no experience, should read the righting on the wall as did Beau Falgout. Her days are numbered regardless of what the council does. Be smart Lauren, develop your exit plan NOW!
Harv says
20 years I lived here and I have never never seen such a dysfunctional city 20 years in this city and it’s a joke. Johnston is not qualified to be anything besides what she’s doing now and maybe even that position she stated that I am going to get my masters degree,
That doesn’t mean anything , go through City Hall and you’ll see all these employees their degrees on their desk that doesn’t make the person let’s get someone in there with common sense, never mind a degree bullshit it seems to be one nut job after another remember, Melissa Holland, and the scandal that we had to deal with this is not the paralyze that people envision it to be. We have a bunch of nitwits from over the country coming here and trying to get into politics since the cities position manager is open. It’s like we have all the vultures in this county diving in for the piece of meat.
Mike says
I agree with you. Johnston is a unqualified nasty individual who has no business in this position.
Wobie says
Hmmm … wonder what the city and county budget is for greasing palms and making backroom deal with cronies? Bet that’s not disclosed in any financial document.
Bobby says
OMG between Alfin who should never have fired the city manager and the committee that is totally useless and and now Cameron who needs to go hang his hat somewhere else.
Can’t this county come up with more qualified individuals that know what their doing on how to run a City. Tired of seeing the same names come up over and over.
I would like to see them all replaced because their job performance is horrible, unprofessional and unqualified individuals.
Just a thought says
That’s perfect. A sleazy city manager working for a sleazy mayor. Match made in Hell