Palm Coast Mayor Norris’s self-vaunted, well-attended and uneventful “Mayoral Town Hall” at the VFW hall on Old Kings Road Monday evening was almost identical to a grousing public comment segment at a City Council meeting, but stretched to two hours, and with a larger audience primed by pizza, beer and wine on the mayor’s personal generosity.
The two-hour event drew 154 people, based on a head count just before the halfway mark. The other council members’ town halls this summer have been drawing about 30 each, so at that pace Norris can say he drew more people than all his colleagues’ town halls combined.
If there was any doubt that Norris could still draw on a core of devotees, many affectionately voicing their support, the town hall dispelled it. Whether that core translates to enduring support beyond the core is impossible to tell. Norris himself has his doubts: “I got three years if they don’t kick me out,” he said, not the most self-assured endorsement of his own tenure.
Judging by his own words, he’d been as nervous about the turnout as he was relieved by it. “It does my heart good to know that I have people supporting me, because I’ve been beat down,” he said at the tail end of the gathering, sitting alone as he had the whole time on an elevated barstool on the stage, despite his sciatica, wrapping the mic’s wire again and again over his hand. “I’ve been beat down ever since May, and I’m just trying to do the right thing, and I’ll keep doing that.”
He was nervously relaxed, his presentation improvised and unprepared, flitting from grievance to specific topic and back to grievance–his go-to theme whenever he needed to avoid dead air. “So let’s see, what else I can talk about real quick before I let you guys go ask some questions?”
His nonexistent command of city issues beyond vague generalities underscored the extent to which his term so far has been a mayoralty of rhetoric over substance, a vacuum that by necessity he’s needed to fill with the populist substitute for leadership–denunciations, fulminations and rambling rants. Monday evening though, among friends, he did it all without bitterness or anger so much as a bewildered, at times mournful defensiveness that has yet to figure it all out: “I’ve been brutalized on the dais and the media,” he said (he’d welcomed media with handshakes). “I am not the villain in this story.” He did not seem to have a clue, or at least any self-awareness.
There were a couple of rounds of applause. But Norris was obviously not there to instigate or rabble-rouse. He was respectful of the half dozen media members in the audience, though he barred video. He wanted to reassure himself that he mattered beyond his social media echo chamber, even if the VFW post’s congregation created a merely tangible echo chamber, and in spite of an entirely self-imposed isolation on the council, at City Hall and in public.
He made his plea explicit: he had people distribute a “support Mike Norris” letter or petition, its signatures to be sent to the governor as a counterpoint to the council’s letter requesting his removal while another supporter, Jeani Duarte, who is running for a council seat, used the town hall to gather a recall petition against Gambaro.
Whether held in a private venue or not, at his expense or not, Norris was still hosting the occasion in his capacity as mayor, advertising its purpose explicitly as a “mayoral town hall,” making it an official city event at which politicking–such as distributing a recall petition, or campaigning–could raise questions of legality just as if he were doing so from the dais, or allowing a constituent to distribute a recall petition at a council meeting.
Norris tried to rationalize his absence from public duties but his explanations fell flat, or sounded infantile, as when he justified not appearing at the July 4 event at the county airport, where over a dozen local elected officials read the Declaration of Independence. “I am not at all happy with the administrator of that airport. I don’t think you should be in that position,” Norris said. “ And I will not be on that airport for anything.” Then he made a possible exception for next year’s sestercentennial of the Declaration.
He never explained why he’s abandoned his duties on advisory boards or why he’s turned his back on the city’s top administration, though as he often does when he needs a shot of legitimacy, he brushed up against the sheriff’s coattails: He repeatedly mentioned communications with Mark Strobridge, the sheriff’s chief of staff who Interim City Manager Lauren Johnston borrowed as her assistant for a few months.
After giving the floor to Palm Coast Historical Society President Raesa Pabst for a few minutes, Norris began the session with what was designed as an introduction before turning over the mic to audience questions. He wanted to “clear up a few things.” The few things became Norris as Ulysses against the world, a whiplashing stream-of-consciousness narrative that reflected the unassuming undiscipline that his followers love so much, because it amplifies their own.
He started with “the spies at City Hall,” which he said was all a “misunderstanding.” (It is no misunderstanding: Norris himself has accused city staffers of spying on him or bugging his office). He shifted the focus onto a document he’d received from an employee in the Building Department months ago that he said, holding up the document, led to the firing of an employee and the suspension of one or two others over “time-stealing,” then jumped to a brief jeremiad about how he’s been mistreated, then to the city needing industry and “pad-ready sites,” to the $360,000 median cost of houses, to the 19,000 entitled houses “in the cue for 10 years,” to Charles Gambaro’s presence on the City Council (“I don’t think it was right”) to former Council member Ed Danko’s texts to someone in the audience about how Gambaro was “going to put me in my place,” to his lost lawsuit against the city to kick Gambaro off the council and his surprise declaration that he won’t appeal (“I have people in this city, multi millionaires, that have said ‘I will appeal that case and take it as far as I can,’ but I don’t want to cost the city money,” he said, though earlier this month he said he didn’t care if he cost the city $1 million), to the ethics complaint the council filed against him and its apparent legal insufficiency, back to a little self-pity (“this has been quite a struggle. I did not expect people would treat me like this”), how he’s “only one person” but will keep people like Gambaro and others from ever being elected again, then onto an unexpected compliment for Johnston, the city manager, how the city has been behind the ball on water infrastructure, how “we should conserve,” how the “Loop Road” from Matanzas Woods Parkway to Palm Coast Parkway will eventually connect to a major highway connecting Orlando and Jacksonville, how “we just can’t keep building houses” and how “this isn’t a retirement community anymore,” how the former private owner of the water utility kept charging the city $1,000 per hookup long after the utility was sold, how the chamber of commerce should bring high-paying jobs, how the county doesn’t have the money to build an expensive sports complex on the west side of the city, and how he doesn’t see his two sons being able to come back to Palm Coast to work for lack of jobs for them.
Norris delivered it all in the same neutral tone, like an uncle among friends returned from Troy and catching them up at the Thanksgiving table on the year’s battles. He then turned over the mic to one of his sons to take to members of the audience, when the streams of consciousness, many of them rich in creative fictions, began from the floor. They were at times prefaced with pledges of allegiance: “I want to start off by saying I support you 100 percent,” the first speaker, a man called Scott, said. He did not have a question. He went on for a few minutes about “little outhouses they call houses” that are going up in the city and how “you and I,” meaning Norris and Scott, “suffer from the same condition, we’re allergic to buttholes.”
The next speaker didn’t have a question, either, but complained about “skyrocketing” utility bills, which prompted Norris briefly to speak about the city’s comprehensive plan and how council members may have broken sunshine by collaborating on their letter to the governor asking him to remove Norris from office. The comments were typically long, meandering, contradictory and filled with the sort of conspiratorial accusations the same commenters make at council meetings about city “corruption.”
There were a few questions, though they were so rare that when someone was about to ask one, he said: “It’s actually going to be a question.” The woman who chairs the city’s drainage advisory committee asked whether there was a ban on drilling wells in the city. Norris said he didn’t think there was. (There isn’t.)
Then back to comments from the floor, with Council member Theresa Pontieri a recurring target of criticism, how the judge “ruled wrong” against Norris, a direct question about what incentives the city is offering new industry (the city must attract industry first before it can offer incentives, Norris said), and so on. Misinformation was frequent, as when the man who’s been crusading for a “forensic audit” for years claimed every city is required to have a forensic audit every five years (he is wrong: no city is ever required to have a forensic audit absent direct and provable evidence of wrongdoing.)
For the most part, the people who spoke were the same people who addressed the council in a recurring cast of Norris-supporting characters. One familiar commenter who claims to have had “26 years’ experience in government accounts,” her calling card every time she addresses the council, said almost in the same phrase that the city was “bankrupt” even though “we have a $200 million reserve.” (The city is neither bankrupt nor has such a reserve.) She said consultants and city attorneys are raping the city, and said city employees are overpaid and underqualified “grossly.”
“And Mike, I’m available to you at any time. I’ve been watching everything. I got it all up here,” she said to applause. Another woman said her husband is a very good certified public accountant and has volunteered his services, gratis, to conduct a forensic audit. (Forensic accounting skills are as specific as surgical skills: just having an M.D. doesn’t make any doctor a neurosurgeon.)
One person turned up at the town hall because, she told Norris, “you seem to be pissing off a lot of people. I wanted to know why.” She said she got her answer from his opening introduction.
The audience–all white, with a few Latinos, almost all on the “older” side, as one member of the public commented to groans from the audience–thinned significantly after the halfway point as grievances turned repetitive and Norris, who purposefully refused to appear with city staff at his side, could not answer most of the few questions posed about specific city issues.
“Thank you for coming out,” Norris told what remained of the audience at 8 p.m. “If you need me, call me, email me or hit me up on Facebook,” assuming you’re not blocked. There was a smattering of applause, and it was over.
Call me Disappointed says
The mayor was a joke the moment he appeared in the City and still remains a joke. Other nearby City Mayors, Councilmen and Commissioners consider him a joke and demeaning to the Office of public service.
His time is limited as are his minions in their fake attempt at doing good for our residents.
Disappointing and disrespectful are they all.
Victor G says
I bet if you rounded up those 154 people and shipped them back to wherever they came from we’d rid ourselves of 50% of our problems and increase the County’s avg IQ by 10 points.
Let’s face some facts. This past mayors race was the WORST mayoral field Palm Coast has ever had. Horrible choices. Norris who was a terrible candidate, made bad mistakes throughout the campaign. He violated private property numerous times. His saving grace? He wasn’t named “Alfin”.
In the general, he faced Manfre, a Democrat, whose family history made her a non-choice. Norris won because 1. He was a Republican and 2. He seemed like the least bad of a really bad bunch.
This belief that he is heavily supported “by the people” is a complete farce. Basically, you’ve got a bunch of loud mouths chanting “no more development” supporting him. Norris was always going to be bad, the hope was he wouldn’t be a complete disaster. We missed, Folks! This guy is almost completely insane.
Norris lied this weekend. The governor hasn’t denied anything. I don’t expect DeSantis to revoke Norris. Governors usually don’t want to get involved in local matters. Norris lied though, nothing has been “revoked”.
Norris has behaved like a complete idiot. How does someone with something as useless as “a Masters degree in Human Resources” not understand how to treat people? He’s mentally challenged. He has never understood that, as a Mayor, you would need people and need to get along with people to be successful.
Most of us would like nothing better than to not have anymore development. In the REAL world, that stance gets the City sued. You cannot stop people from doing what they legally are allowed to, with the property they own. Controlled development is the answer.
We have a group of “Republicans” who have no understanding of property rights. That lack of fundamental understanding makes them seem like overly emotional idiots.
The same group keeps screaming for a “forensic audit”! Here’s a thought, make a freedom of information request and pay for your own forensic audit. Spend your own money, creatures!
For those of us who are sane, we’d like to address real problems: water, sewer and stormwater. Let’s figure out how to maintain our infrastructure. He can’t ever answer that because he’s too busy whining.
What we’d like to see is our wonderful County and City keep its authenticity by making wise decisions about how our growth is managed.
Norris’ attitude and mouth aren’t getting anything accomplished but, he gets his craziness publicized. He’s been in office 8 months, that’s the only thing he’s accomplished
Pogo says
@Aimless
… depressed; waiting to cross the river, hoping the fare is yet in their means: paradise lost in the free state of floriduh…
It’s not your world girls and boys — you just live(?) here.
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.
https://poets.org/poem/hollow-men
Give Norris… says
Awe too bad for Mike! 😪 I can’t imagine calling him mayor, he’s NOT! Not in any sense of the word or meaning.
Palm Coast has a population of more than 110,000 residents with Only 154 of those Palm Coast residents showing up at Mikes “town hall” meeting is a mere penance comparatively.
Wow ! That sure tells a whole lot.
Of those 154 that attended , not all are Mike supporters.
Many were there for the pizza, beer and wine.
Yawn🥱
Of course the usual Mike Norris Zombies that attended are the same Zombies that always show up and repeat the same empty rhetoric they regurgitate regularly at every weekly city counsel meeting. I guess Zombies have a low cognitive dissonance and logic since they are unable to retain information or answers to their questions.
Overall the questions at Mikes so called town meeting , which by the way, were all softball questions. Even with those softball questions Mike was unable to provide any concrete answers.
Mike very unprofessionally and unethically asked for signatures on a petition to have Gambaro removed from his legitimately valid seat he was selected to fill out of 14 others that applied for the city council seat.
Mikes jealousy and fear of Gamboro is quite obvious and very unbecoming
Having a brigadier general on the dais it’s just too much for Mikes ego to handle 😭
Mike is obviously hiding from something on his record he is afraid of having exposed 😱
Mike Norris is a manipulator. Manipulators often play the victim role,( Woe is me) by portraying themselves as victims of circumstances or someone else’s behavior in order to gain pity or sympathy or to evoke compassion and thereby get something from someone.
Sound familiar?
Mike Norris you have to vacate immediately before you are thrown out!
MM says
Well, Mike Norris is a ‘cry baby’ and it’s always poor Mikey. I’m so sick of it. Bragging all the time how tough he is, how he killed terrorists and all, but then acts like a two year old. Sounds like Trump. He can whine and complain all he wants, that won’t change the fact that he has no clue how to run a city and be Mayor. His loyalists are just the same as trump loyalists, and they stand by him no matter what laws he breaks and how rude and obnoxious his mouth is. Im sickened by it all.
Kenneth Nasif says
I never realized just how much FlaglerLive was so political, so leftist, so biased in its reporting, & so much anti-Mayor. Clearly FlaglerLive did not attend the same town hall meeting everyone else did. The manner in which you described, interpreted, & distorted almost every word that came out of the Mayor’s mouth is absolutely disgraceful! An honest & unbiased community news resource has a moral obligation to report without bias the facts of any covered event – – you have utterly failed your responsibility to us in that regard. The vindictive bias & vengeful manner in which you have reported the Mayor’s successful historic town hall meeting will henceforth cause all the people of Flagler County to pause & question the truth & integrity of any article or event you report on in the future. You have harmed yourself & your own integrity.
Charlene says
I have seen enough of the pedo protection klan and what they refer to as “leadership”. They are an embarrassment at every position they hold.
Ed Danko, former Vice-Mayor PC says
One has to wonder what is going through the distorted nonfunctional diffusional scrambled depressed brain of Mike Norris as he moves from one rant to another, from falsehoods to misinformation to blatant lying while contradicting himself at every turn. Sadly, it took free wine, beer and pizza to gather the 154 people left in town that still support him and were willing to sit there and experience his one-man-victim “none-reality” 2-hour reality show.
Larry says
Another weekly dose of Mike Norris induced drama that doesn’t help the city. Wonder what kind of Mike Norris drama will occur next week.
Pierre Tristam says
@Kenneth Nasif, the 74,000 visits to this site in the last 24 hours (or half that, if you prefer, in this world of bots) may suggest otherwise, as do our 16 years as this county’s primary news source, which you have yourself complimented directly by email in the past (of coure that was when you needed us to investigate a fraudster who’d ripped you off). That’s before you turned shill for the mayor and unwisely lent your support to his misinterpretation of the charter in the Gambaro business, thus possibly encouraging him to file a lawsuit that needlessly cost taxpayers $30,000 so far. So much for integrity. We stand by our reporting. You may want to stand by your former judicial ethics.
TR says
@ED, the same can be said for you when you were on the council, then you ran for county and lost because the people of Flagler County saw what you did (or didn’t do) for your people of your district and they said heck no and you lost. Go away please and stop with all your ranting all over social media thinking you’re doing something good when you’re not. It’s making you seem like the crybaby you’re accusing Mayor Norris of being. So let me ask you, you want to be the pot or the kettle?
David Schaefer says
We shall see what we shall see….
Check Your Facts says
@KennethNasif. I attended the event. Pierre’s reporting was absolutely on point.
Give Norris The ….. says
TR This article is about Loser Norris Not about Danko.
Insulting Danko… really ….. that’s the best you have ? That shows you have nothing to offer.
You need to go back where you came from. Wherever that is.
Your nasty comment to Danko sounds like the same redneck dialect Norris uses. He too has nothing intelligent to offer.
It’s disgraceful to all real Republicans you support the Biggest Liar, Trouble Maker , Bully, Incompetent , Uneducated, Unqualified person ever elected in Palm Coast.
You have the audacity to call Danko out. He was far better than Norris could ever dream of.
Mark Webb says
To everyone hiding behind a pseudonym instead of using your name must not really stand behind your comments.
I support and welcome your comments in this forum. We all have opinions that we want to share.
Welcome to the 1st amendment, but you need to own it.
I was at this meeting and have no opinions on the personal issues presented last night.
I went becuse I care about this city an the future we have to live in.
Flaglerlive and other new outlets reported similar observations.
I look forward to seeing everyone that makes comments here at the next city council meeting Aug 5th at 6 pm. You have 3 minutes to share your views.
Kenneth Nasif says
Pierre – Your use of your FlaglerLive news format to engage in a shameful & personal attack on me proves the point I have made. FlaglerLive wholly lacks integrity & journalistic ethics.Yes, 7 or 8 years ago I shared with you info on a massive swimming pool scam. But I never “needed” you & I don’t even recall if you published it. I am not a “shill” for the Mayor or anyone as you have accused me. Yes, I support the Mayor or any other PC citizen who challenges the legality of the unelected Councilman Gambaro (not to mention his agenda for our city) notwithstanding the Court’s opinion. How ironic……..FlaglerLive’s personal attack on me is the height of a violation of journalistic ethics yet your tirade ends with the word “ethics”. Sad.
Pierre Tristam says
Nasif, for a moment there I thought you and I shared a cedar-shaded ancestry ripe for swigs of arak and Phoenician myths. But not even the Lebanese have your gift for disingenuity. You must’ve picked that up gaveling Brahmins in your old digs up north.