Jeanie Duarte, a candidate for the Palm Coast City Council, has been thrown out of the council chambers–again.
It last happened 10 weeks ago. Today it happened at the very end of a six-hour meeting when, public comment over, and after Duarte had made her usual string of appearances at the lectern to contest, ridicule or allege this or that on wags of half-truths and fabulisms, she returned to the lectern against the city attorney’s advice and challenged Mayor Mike Norris to remove her.
Duarte is running in the District 2 seat Council member Theresa Pontieri is vacating at the end of her term. Pontieri is running for a County Commission seat. Duarte faces Tony Amaral, a candidate who has never been thrown out of a public meeting.
Among the last people in the chamber this afternoon, Duarte had been the only speaker to address the council in the final public participation segment, immediately going out of order by directing City Attorney Marcus Duffy to look at five pieces of paper she’d given him, ostensibly sample ballots from former elections.
Posing a rhetorical trap, again on a malformed premise, she wanted him to explain when language pertaining to special elections had been removed from the charter, and when voters were asked to approve that removal. “Once you’re finished with your explanation, please pass down the paperwork to the city clerk for filing,” Duarte told the attorney as if she was already his boss. (Council members in their official functions may direct only two individuals, the city manager and the city attorney. Citizens may not direct anyone.)
Duarte than fell silent and stood at the lectern. “Are you done, Ms. Duarte?” Norris asked her. She said she had two more minutes. He told her she could stand there all she wanted. Duffy for his part wasn’t about to take her orders. Duarte went on, claiming something to the effect that charter language had been inappropriately altered. “It must be deceptive, and you must be lying,” she said. “And remember, anytime you’re sitting on that dais, you are under oath. Every one of you are (sic) under oath.” Then she walked back to her sea.
But did she? The question must always be asked when Duarte is on stage.
Duffy, who has held his tongue in all matters Duartian for 18 months, had had enough. “I have been on this dais for two years now, and for a year and a half Ms. Duarte has pled stuff that are incorrect, and she does not do her research,” he said. “This has already been litigated. It is already done. Five people up here have moved on. You need to do the same. And by the way– don’t you dare try to come back up here.”
Too late. She was back. She was asking what had been litigated, and Norris was warning her she was about to be removed.
“I’m happy to be removed. Go ahead and hit your ballot–your, whatever,” Duarte said, casting a Freudian slip in her confusion.
“Commander, please remove her from the chamber,” the mayor asked Sheriff’s Cmdr. Bernie Woodward, the city’s liaison with the Sheriff’s Office who is in the chamber at att meetings.
“One more thing,” Duffy said. “Everything you guys have done, is done legally. I am not going to keep going round and round with her on this issue. The charter has been followed. The charter committee followed everything. This issue is closed and we are done with it. I’ve given my advice. I’m moving on.” He did not mean to Marineland, which he’s leaving to other colleagues.
JonQPublik says
She seems… nice.
Mort says
Idiots like Ms. Duarte are running for public office. She is completely unqualified. And all she is interested in doing is creating a spectacle of false accusations.
James says
https://flaglerlive.com/wp-content/uploads/duarte-1.jpg
“… Tony Amaral, a candidate in the same district, is third from left in the background. …”
Third from left? Left of Duarte in the background?
You mean that old dude with white hair, glasses and wearing a blue-ish shirt?
Or the guy in front of him in the white turtleneck? Third from left of the smiling dude with sunglasses in the foreground?
Just a wonder’n.
Over It says
She is a lunatic! A nut!! She comes in with half baked ideas or thoughts and masquerades them as the truth and logic. The worst part? She doesn’t think she’s wrong. She thinks every single person who doesn’t agree with her is either blind, stupid, or is a part of the problem.
Sometimes, conspiracy theorists have a point. She however, never does.
I pray that nobody votes for this Joe Mullins wannabe into office. It would be the final nail in the coffin for Palm Coast.
Shark says
Talk about a poor choice – a psycho and a builder !!!
Pastor Barry Kerner says
It would have been helpful if this article contained some background on the clauses to the charter that were referenced as well as information as to how it been litigated, as claimed. I am fairly new to Palm Coast and I am appalled as to how the city and county government is run. While nothing may have been done illegally in the past much appears to have gave been shady. The citizens of Palm Coast deserve much better.
Dennis and Jeani Duarte says
Where is the signature (name) of the author of this story?
I love the photos you pick of me. Makes me want to get back in the gym.
Where did you get that I challenged the Mayor to remove me?
I was responding to Duffy’s redirect. I was the only resident in the room.
I had 37 seconds left when I stepped away from the podium. Duffy got smart so I decided to use up my time.
Mayor always lets “you know who” have extra time on the clock. FUNNY!!! Let’s be fair now!!!
And why did you pass me by twice on February 5th when I got uninvited to the Candidate forum.
A good journalist would have loved to get all sides of the story.
Jeani Duarte
Pierre Tristam says
Ms. Duarte, I wrote the article. You are quoted, and are on video, challenging the mayor and saying explicitly, “I’m happy to be removed.” There is no unfairness in the article’s description of your interaction with the mayor and the city attorney. A speaker’s time is over when the speaker ends his/her/their appearance at the dais, as you did when you returned to your seat. There is no absolute three-minute block the speaker may use at will, once stopped before the three minutes have run out. In other words, assuming you were not the only speaker in that segment and you had used up only one of your three minutes before a subsequent speaker took the lectern, you could not have returned, either during that speaker’s time or after the speaker’s time, to pick up your three minutes where you left off. As for the February 5 GOP forum, which I planned to attend, I was not paying attention to you or much of anyone once I learned, before the forum started, that the Flagler Beach City Commission was holding a special meeting, which was more newsworthy than the forum, and to which I ran. In any case I had no plans to report on the forum, just observe it.) I’ll do my best to take a few fresh pictures of you at the next opportunity, so we have new ones to use the next few times you’re thrown out.
Over It says
Are you serious? Go back and watch the council meeting! You ABSOLUTELY challenged the Mayor to throw you out!
Are you just delusional? Crazy? Or just manipulative? I mean, you were physically there!
Just know, with all the crazy things you are doing, I and many others will never vote for you.
She batsh*tcrazy.com says
She just accuses people of anything she wants to say. Lies, and spins things to the point of certified whack-a-do.
Im tired of listening to her.
Good bye and good ridden.
Jim says
Jeanie Duarte sounds like a fine candidate for our city council! Actually, I’m a little surprised that Mr. Norris, our esteemed mayor, isn’t one of her fans. Making accusations about city matters and failing to provide any proof should be fine with him. Did he not make substantial claims of fraud and abuse in the government when elected? And since that time, I haven’t heard or seen anything indicating any follow up. So was there fraud and abuse or not?!
I don’t know Tony Amaral but if he can walk and chew bubblegum, I’d put my money on him in the election. If he’s competent and has some common sense and decency, that’s even better!
Anyway, Jeanie, thanks for providing a laugh for us today!
Chris Jackson says
I haven’t lived here very long, but this situation concerns me. Honestly, it’s getting hard to tell what’s real and what’s just theater. Can your team take a closer look at what Duarte is actually claiming? She seems sincere.
If she’s really a whistleblower with proof that the charter was changed deceptively, I want to see it. Please give the facts a platform so we can focusing on whether there’s actually an issue with this town.
Another joke candidate says
This woman, Jeanie Duarte, is an embarrassment. She’s an embarrassment to women. She’s an embarrassment to intelligent people. She’s an embarrassment to politics in Palm Coast and Flagler County.
1. First and foremost, she was practicing medicine and dispensing (“nutrition”) medical advice in Palm Coast and Flagler County without any education and without a State of Florida license to practice. That is a crime.
She claims to have an online “certificate” in “nutrition”, which she thinks qualifies her to dispense medical advice. Once she was caught and admitted to doing that, she claimed to be retired. Mind you, she showed no remorse.
This is similar to a former Flagler County School Board member who claimed to have a PhD (fake) and was actually practicing in this community as a mental health counselor AND accepting money for doing so.
2. This woman just reinforces what a joke and what a circus politics in Flagler County and Palm Coast has become, and that is unqualified (Will Furry) and ego driven people who run for office without any ability to understand they have no qualifications other than the “R” behind their name. AND people actually vote them into office only to find out shortly later what a mistake they made voting for these idiots.
I’m sure some uninformed idiots will vote for this woman for a seat on the Palm Coast City Council.
The woman is delusional and stupid. How about not voting for this woman?
I’m sure she’ll be posting yet another retort to this comment. By the way, this comment is from a licensed healthcare provider here in Palm Coast and the State of Florida who has gone through stringent vetting in Tallahassee in the way of education and level 2 background checks. If she’s not careful, she can be turned in for practicing previously without a license, which she openly admitted to on Flagler Live in the comments section.
celia says
I agree with Chris. Even the Mayor went to court for the appointment, other than the residents allowed to vote for the vacancy that council instead appointed Mr. Gambaro to fill. The charter was not clear and specific and open to interpretation… maybe and in that case us the residents should have been allowed to vote instead. Jeani Duarte is justified. But what done is done as many other negative issues occasionally in the 26 years of Palm Coast incorporation. Unfortunately the two appointed other than elected councilmen, generated the discontent of the Palm Coast residents with like yesterday Mr. Sullivan voted against the existing affected businesses in Hargrove Grade (TG Mrs Duarte was for the business) and “Mr. Gambaro with his proposal to sell” our Palm Harbor Golf Course a staple and number one and only amenity in Palm Coast course/park, that generates almost 2 millions in revenue in golfers user fees. None of the others including Holland Splash Park, Indian Trails sport complex, Water Front Park, Carter Park etc. generate any substantial or zero revenue but us the taxpayers residents have to fund into the millions. So Mr. Gambaro keep your negative proposals or any condos plans away from our beloved PHGC as our city was built around it and golfers pay dearly to use it! This while we have to pay for all users of Splash Park etc. etc. By the way so far we have to appreciate the positive work so of PHGC manager Mr. Dennis Radicam hopefully while keeping a tight hand on expenses. Reminder also that our PHGC in our public hands creates many local jobs and more than any concrete plant and in a healthy, beautiful, clean and eye pleasing sports industry!