The Florida Commission on Ethics tossed out a complaint filed by four Palm Coast City Council members against Mayor Mike Norris, citing “legal insufficiency.” Norris had said as much in a social media posting last Friday and at a town hall meeting Monday, misinterpreting the order as a victory.
The Ethics Commission reached its determination in a closed session last Friday and announced it early this afternoon, after the order was signed. ” No factual investigation preceded the review, and therefore the Commission’s conclusions do not reflect on the accuracy of the allegations of the complaint,” the order states.
To the council members, the ethics commission’s decision is one more reason to revise the city charter to add disciplinary clauses that would enable a council majority–or a supermajority–to deal with a rogue or derelict member.
The order does not address the validity of the complaint. As with many such complaints, the commission determined it was not within its jurisdiction to investigate. The commission investigates conflicts of interest and misuses of public office for public gain, neither of which Norris is accused of. It does not investigate misconduct outside that scope, such as violations of local charters or hostile misconduct.
The council filed the ethics complaint in May after it censured Norris in April for violating the city charter and other misconduct, making him the first elected official in the county ever censured. An independent investigation concluded that Norris attempted to fire the acting city manager and chief of staff in a closed-door meeting, a clear violation of the charter, demeaned staffers, and created a hostile working environment.
“The allegation fails to identify, in a factual, nonconclusory manner, any special private capacity benefit” that Norris may have drawn from seeking the resignations of the staffers, the order found. As for the misconduct allegations, “because they do not appear to be based on the Complainant’s personal knowledge or information other than hearsay, no investigation can be conducted concerning them,” the order found, in essence setting aside the sworn statements about the misconduct because they were not Pontieri’s own. It also found the misconduct unrelated to any personal gain on Norris’s part.
“The investigation results still stand; unfortunately our charter did not anticipate and provide a remedy for a member of the council knowingly violating the charter,” Council member Ty Miller said. “However, I accept the committee’s decision and look forward to getting back to the job at hand.”
Council member Theresa Pontieri said she will be pushing for charter amendments that address the “poor behavior” and “destructive behavior” of council members. (Pontieri last week took issue with Norris claiming that Pontieri had herself filed the ethics complaint even though it was a collective effort. Norris was relying on the commission’s determination that since municipalities are not among the agencies that may file ethics complaints, “this complaint will be treated as having been filed by the Complainant in her private capacity.” As vice mayor, Pontieri was seen as the lead signatory.)
Norris is taking the dismissal as a victory, now that its decision to file the complaint can be made to look like a strategic misstep. The outcome enables Norris, however inaccurately, to interpret it as an invalidation of the council’s charges against him, fueling his and his partisans’ contention that he is facing a cabal.
“That’s fine, but he’s been saying that about the judge and everybody else,” City Council member Dave Sullivan said, referring to the way Norris has disputed and ridiculed a circuit judge’s order against the lawsuit Norris filed to boot Council member Charles Gambaro off the council. In that decision, Circuit Judge Chris France found Norris to have had no standing to bring the lawsuit and the city to have acted within the charter in appointing Gambaro.
Norris continues to claim Gambaro is an illegitimate member of the council, and has since associated Sullivan, who was also appointed, as part of the same cabal.
“Facts are facts,” Sullivan said of the incidents that led to Norris’s censure and to the ethics complaint. “We had investigations done. We had people who said what they said under oath. There’s a lot of stuff in the public record. We’ve taken the action that seems appropriate at this point in time.”
When Norris was censured for the second time, after he was found to have lied to the council about not being advised about his lack of standing to sue the city, the council followed up with a letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis, asking the governor to suspend Norris. It was another risky move. Should the governor decline to remove or discipline Norris–and he is much likelier to decline than to fulfill the council’s request–the damage to the council would be in proportion to Norris’s sense of restored legitimacy.
“We’re going to get different views,” Sullivan said. “I don’t feel we’ve done anything wrong or improper and the things we’ve said in our ethics complaint and our letter to the governor are factual, backed up, and I think we’ve done the right thing.” Like Miller, he stressed that the ethics commission’s decision had nothing to do with the merits or the facts of the complaint.
Norris did not miss the chance to crow even before the commission publicly announced the order. At his town hall on Monday, Norris held up what he said was a copy of the ethics complaint.
He claimed not to have received the mailing from the Ethics Commission until July 11, and blamed City Hall staff for sitting on it until then. He’d been on a long vacation in late May. “I didn’t receive this until 11 July, because apparently it got lost in the city,” Norris claimed to a crowd of over 150 people. “And it says right here, placed on your desk. ‘No one’s looked at it,’ after it had been opened and resealed.” There was laughter in the crowd. “So almost two months, when I got back I didn’t even know of an ethics complaint, I haven’t been notified.”
City Hall staff did not sit on it. It received the envelope on May 19. The envelope was opened, as is every piece of mail that comes to City Hall, for scanning, as a public record. When staff saw the word “confidential” written on a document, the contents were not scanned. The envelope was resealed. Kendra Ianotti, the executive assistant to the city manager, wrote a note on the envelope and stamped the date of receipt.
“It was put in his mailbox with a note in the front of it on May 19th, and that’s stamped on the front of the envelope,” Brittany Kershaw, the city’s director of communications, said. Mark Strobridge, the sheriff’s chief of staff currently working as interim assistant city manager, said he saw Norris pick up the envelope “a couple of weeks ago,” and saw Ianotti’s note, but did not read the note.
So while the mayor, for whatever reason, picked up the ethics commission’s envelope in July, he was falsely accusing city staff of not delivering the envelope until July 11, and falsely intimated that the package had been inappropriately opened. He did not explain mail protocol and public record scanning to the crowd, letting his audience laugh with the assumption that his mail had been snooped on, then misplaced until July 11.
Norris’s version of events continues a pattern of mischaracterizations and what his colleagues have termed outright lies that have shadowed his pronouncements on and off the dais since his election last November.
At the town hall, Norris said he had not had the chance to respond to the ethics complaint–“my 10-day limit to respond to the ethics complaint had come and gone,” he said.
“Five days after I finally got it, I called up to the Ethics Commission. I said to the coordinator, I said, Hey, I said, I didn’t receive this ethics complaint,” Norris told the audience, the complaint in hand. “I’m like, I’m not going to change anything. My sworn statement’s in there. She said, Mike, don’t worry about it. It’s already done. Already done. It’s already been denied. Insufficient, legally. Insufficient. That would be made public on Wednesday. They will put that out. They’ve already tanked that.”
He was right about that.
Gary L Kunnas says
The currant 2 voted members and 2 appointed are pro builders. We the people didn’t vote that way . Gambaro is a puppet of the Alfin gang. To cause havoc against mayor Norris who is not pro builder. Sullivan is just another Biden. Space cadet. Miller got 40 K from builders for his campaign. Pontieri is a flip flopper depending on whether it makes her look good or not. It’s just a witch hunt. I believe the plan to get builders son in her spot and become mayor . BIG MISTAKE FOR US ! New homes no water or sewer because of ineptness from past councils
Jim says
I honestly do not understand what Norris’s end game is. What does he think he’s going to accomplish? Only the most dense or ignorant amongst us can fail to see that the rest of the council has only reacted to his bizarre behavior and his failure to follow the charter, failure to follow procedure and, now, near constant lying and/or mischaracterization of facts to try to look like the victim. He doesn’t do the job. In his “town hall”, he couldn’t answer any questions addressed to him about city specifics. That might be because he fails to interact with the city administration. As a mayor, just what good is he??
I don’t think DeSantis will remove him. Politically, there’s nothing in it for him and that’s his number one thought on everything he does. Norris will claim that as a victory.
Sadly, it’s going to come down to the citizens of this city. Do we want this guy as our “mayor” for 3-1/2 more years? I can’t see that as a viable option. We do have the option of a recall. In a recent comment from another person (and I wish I’d kept it so I could give the proper credit), that procedure was provided and I read through it. While it’s somewhat complicated and there are some time deadlines that have to be met, I expect this is ultimately going to be our only option unless we all just want to continue this sad state of affairs indefinitely.
I think the truth is that Norris has a very small group of supporters. I doubt the local Republican party will even support him if there is a recall. It’s not in their long-term best interests to say this is their guy!
This will have to be a team effort. If anyone has the ability and resources to initiate a recall, I will definitely be willing to participate, including actively pursuing signatures for the recall. Just publicize the effort so we can all join in.
PeachesMcGee says
He is nothing more than a turd swirling around the toilet bowl called life.
Larry says
Seems every week there is a new Mayor Mike Norris initiated problem.
Wonder what kind of drama Mayor Norris will initiate next week. Stay tuned next week to find out. It’s almost like a weekly TV series but even seasoned TV writers couldn’t dream up some of the crazy stuff coming from Mayor Norris.
blondee says
Nice try now get back to work.
MELENDEZ MELENDEZ says
Norris is a real problem to us all, he will continue with his distractions and side shows as long as he’s in office. A recall should be in order.
Give Norris says
Typical Crooked Norris otherwise known as the Victimizer that Continuously plays the victim!
Ruthless, Lying Conniving Shit Head 💩🤡👹☠️ Douche Bag
James says
“… To the council members, the ethics commission’s decision is one more reason to revise the city charter to add disciplinary clauses that would enable a council majority–or a supermajority–to deal with a rogue or derelict member. …”
If this entails removal, hopefully it will be applicable to ALL council members equally… in which case the removed council members seat will be filled by public election, not appointment.
Make it easy on yourselves… and the public… no more appointments under any circumstances.
Just an opinion.
bill says
this city government is so dysfunctional. It’s been dysfunctional for several years even when that nut job Melissa Holland was running get rid of the politicians who pro builders. Soon we’re gonna have somebody who is related to a builder on the city council. Then the city will turn into a crap hole with thousands of more homes previous old mayor who lives on N. Kings Rd. on 5 acres of land is quietly working behind the scenes with builders as his wife is trying to turn the profit over it’s time to move on after 25 years this place is turning to a crap hole and I know the cities working. I worked there for 12 years.
Stop Cheeto pedo says
I feel it’s like the daily terror show nationally! What group will we persecute next, which people will the Nazis target for sabatoge or target for capture. What’s your definition of economic terrorism? Which kids will have their futures pulled from them so the elites can have more. Crazy times in this corrupt shit hole of nation! We’re definitely circling the drain!
Justbob says
Norris was a “one trick pony” …Building moratorium. That ain’t gonna happen. So now what remains is an irrelevant pain in the ass.
William Schreiber says
We definitely do need some disciplinary guidance added to the city charter so the appropriate legal pathway is more obvious. Additionally we should modify the charter to permanently allow for two additional council members, as AT LARGE members. We have become too big to be represented by only four council members and a mayor.
Jay Tomm says
This isn’t hard…. Maybe I should have run for mayor….
We the people of Palm Coast would like…
1 – an end to unchecked building
2 – upgraded city services to include, water, sewer, roads
3 – an effort to bring in real business, that doesn’t harm the environment, or grease the pockets of others
4 – A large increase in impact fee’s & other fees builders need to pay before building anything
5 – incorporate a local city police force & get out of the county BS(can’t say PC has no money for this, Flagler Beach & Bunnell do it & they have no money)
These 5 things would make the vast majority of PC people happy & the city could run so much better.
Some educated observations says
1. Interesting to read all the negative comments from the Flagler County Builders Association (including Melendez).
2. For the commenter who mentioned the Charter Review and/or Charter Review Committee . . .
Are any of you people aware that the new group selected to be on the Palm Coast Charter Review Committee ALL ORIGINATE FROM THE FLAGLER COUNTY REPUBLICAN EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE???? So it’s a done deal when it comes to what that selected group’s findings and suggestions will be. It’s all fixed already. Perry Mitrano is the (awful and uneducated) chair of the Flagler County Republican Executive Committee was selected for charter review.. It’s just a repeat of all the regulars. who just won’t go away. It’s a sham. So nothing will change.
3. By the way, who voted for Norris? No one wants to admit voting for him. I voted for Peter Johnson.
Pepperidge Farm's Remembers says
… but Palm Coast voters don’t apparently.
“… This will have to be a team effort. If anyone has the ability and resources to initiate a recall, I will definitely be willing to participate, including actively pursuing signatures for the recall. Just publicize the effort so we can all join in. …” — Jim
Jim, this has been tried in the past on the charter issue, the fellow that was collecting signatures was never heard from again.
It’s very much the council’s ballgame… doubt any change of substance will be done in the long term interests of the voter.
Just my opinion.
The Slime says
Those of you that support Norris’s position show that you have the intellect of a fly’s ass!