The Palm Coast City Council in a 4-1 vote today censured Mayor Mike Norris for the second time in three months and agreed to send a letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis asking him to unseat the mayor. Both acts were extraordinary for this or any city but for controversies Norris has been provoking since his election last November, making a routine of the extraordinary.
The vote followed a brief statement by Council member Charles Gambaro describing Norris as exhibiting a “pattern of toxic behavior,” and whose “fear and intimidation represent a clear and present danger to the citizens of Palm Coast” and city employees.
And it followed a longer exposition by Council member Theresa Pontieri of Norris’s recurring misstatements, contradictions and misrepresentations about the legal advice he claims he did not receive, cautioning him against suing the city over the Gambaro appointment–as he recently did. He lost.
Norris claims the city attorneys never told him he had no standing to sue. One of the attorneys wrote an outline of the history of legal advice he and another city attorney gave Norris before he sued.
Pontieri stopped short of calling Norris a liar, at least from the dias, though she made clear that she did not believe the mayor, especially after receiving an email Jeremiah Blocker, one of the city attorneys, wrote and sent the council Monday. The email outlines the history of Norris’s interactions with the city attorneys since last year, when he started contesting the Gambaro appointment.
The history was relevant to Pontieri’s point: she wanted Norris to pay some or all of the roughly $30,000 it cost the city to defend against his lawsuit, now that he’s lost. She said last week she could not make that request without proof that he was given the proper legal advice–that he had no standing to sue, as the judge ruled–but filed suit anyway.
“Mayor Norris on several separate occasions was given specific, direct, and concise legal advice by myself and Mr. Duffy that a lawsuit on this matter would be without standing,” Blocker wrote. “Mayor Norris was asked directly by Councilwoman Pontieri if that statement true. He responded, ‘No that is not true. I was not given that advice.’ I am writing to correct that misstatement by Mayor Norris and to help refresh his recollection on the matter. The facts are that Mayor Norris was given ample legal advice on this matter and [chose] to ignore it.” Blocker then provided a timeline. (See the full email below.)
“Based on all of this, mayor,” Pontieri told him, “I not only feel you were, on numerous occasions, advised as to the standing issue and the lack of merit of any potential lawsuit. But I’m also concerned that you misrepresented to this council and to the public that you were not advised of these things.”
Pontieri reiterated that the council made the Gambaro appointment with the legal advice it received, “and it’s what the judge found we did in the lawsuit that you filed, that council acted within the confines of the charter,” she said. “Based on all of this, I do believe our city’s legal fees should be paid for. But that would have to be a personal choice of yours.”
Norris on Facebook and his supporters in or out of the council chamber continue to dispute the judge’s findings. He did not address Pontieri’s request directly. Not yet. Gambaro made his statement and motion after Pontieri spoke, which led Norris to deflect from her request and go on the attack against Gambaro and Flagler Broadcasting’s David Ayres, who had broadcast Norris’s city cell number during a radio show last Friday, asking listeners to text him their approval or disapproval.
Norris, falsely, said Ayres “and those schmucks over there” asked listeners to “call him and tell him he’s an asshole.” (Gambaro was a guest on the same show, Free For nAll Fridays.) He acused Gambaro of playing games. “So you can keep attacking me if you want,” Norris said. “It ain’t going to get you any votes if you’re running for office, but you know, you do what you got to do. So anything else from the council?”
Gambaro reminded him he had a motion on the floor, and Pontieri noted the deflections–a now near-automatic tactic by Norris, when he’s being criticized or under attack. The radio matter is between Norris and Ayres, Pontieri said, though she had an issue with broadcasting anyone’s cell numbers. But taxpayer dollars are not a private matter. “It’s important that we as council members up here, that what we talk about with regards to city business is transparent and is accurate,” Pontieri said. “I care about what we do with tax dollars, and your actions have harmed tax dollars. ”
Norris disputed the Blocker email in parts, and obliquely denied that he’d been told that he had no standing. “Why would I be asking the attorneys about my standing to sue the city? I’m the mayor. Why would I be asking that?” he said, implying that as mayor he had standing. He added: “I just wish you guys would leave me alone. Let me do my job.” Norris has abandoned most of his responsibilities as mayor, only showing up to chair meetings and fill up on his backers’ truckling during public comment segments.
Pontieri backed a motion to censure Norris again, but was uncomfortable about sending a request to the governor to remove Norris. “That’s so hard for me, because regardless of what has happened, Mayor Norris was elected, and we have to think about the residents that did elect him, regardless of how they feel now,” Pontieri said. There’s also an ethics complaint based on the first censure motion pending before the Florida Ethics Commission. Pontieri was willing to add Norris’s latest dissembling to the complaint record rather than seek the governor’s intervention. She heard no support for that approach.
When it came time to vote, Pontieri joined the majority. Norris dissented.
The following is City Attorney Jeremiah Blocker’s email to the Palm Coast City Council, time-stamped July 14 at 6:47 p.m. It is entirely unedited but for the image signature, which does not appear here.
Councilmembers and Mayor,
I want to provide a written response in order to correct the record from the July 8th Council Workshop meeting.
At that meeting, Councilwoman Pontieri asked the City Attorney, Marcus Duffy if the Mayor had been advised against the merits of filing a lawsuit against the City regarding the appointment of Councilman Gambaro in 2024. She asked if legal advice had been provided prior to the filing of the lawsuit by Mayor Norris’ attorney, Anthony Sabatini.
Mr. Duffy correctly pointed out that Mayor Norris on several, separate occasions was given specific, direct, and concise legal advice by myself and Mr. Duffy that a lawsuit on this matter would be without standing. Mayor Norris was asked directly by Councilwoman Pontieri if that statement true. He responded, “No that is not true. I was not given that advice.”
I am writing to correct that misstatement by Mayor Norris and to help refresh his recollection on the matter. The facts are that Mayor Norris was given ample legal advice on this matter and choose to ignore it.
Below is a summary of the timeline that I recall from our advice to Mayor Norris regarding the appointment of Council Member Gambaro to the District 4 seat.
December 2, 2024 – Meeting with Mayor Mike Norris (City Manager Lauren Johnston, Chief of Staff Jason DeLorenzo, & City Attorney Marcus Duffy were in attendance)
Mayor Norris brought up the appointment of Council Member Gambaro District 4 Seat and if the previous City Council followed the Charter in appointing Mr. Gambaro.
City Attorney Marcus Duffy explained the appointment and told Mayor Norris the Charter was followed legally.
Mayor Norris at the end of the meeting stated that he understood and was going to leave it alone.
December 3, 2024 – City Council Meeting
At the end of the meeting, Mayor Norris during the Mayor’s final comments stated, “ I told you I was not going to do this Marcus but I have to…” requested consent from City Council to have the City Attorney draft up a legal opinion regarding the Appointment of District 4 seat. After discussion from the dais, the City Council decided not to move forward with the requested legal opinion.
December 4 , 2024 – Mayor Norris emails City Attorney Marcus, asking for a copy of the previous legal advice that the City Attorney provided the previous City Council regarding the appointment of District 4 Seat.
December 5, 2024 – City Attorney Marcus Duffy, emails Mayor Norris a copy of his previous email he sent to City Council regarding the District 4 Seat. In that same email, City Attorney Duffy explained his previous analysis and his analysis of appointing the District 4 Seat.
December 5, 2024 – Mayor Norris responds to City Attorney Duffy stating that he thinks we have a problem and that the charter was violated.
December 6, 2024 – Attorney Jeremiah Blocker discussed with Mayor Norris via phone the appointment of the District 4 Seat and how the Charter was not violated. Mr. Blocker advised the Mayor that he would not have standing to bring litigation against the City regarding the appointment of the District 4 seat. Also, he advised that the Charter was correctly interpreted and following regarding the appointment.
December 7, 2024 – Attorney Jeremiah Blocker received a text message from Mayor Norris requesting another phone call to discuss the same matter from the previous day. Again, Mr. Blocker specifically articulated that a lawsuit over this matter filed by the Mayor would be frivolous and without standing. He articulated case law and relevant statutes that would bar such an action. Mr. Blocker encouraged the Mayor to move on from this issue expressing that multiple attorneys had reviewed this issue and that the Council acted legally in this matter.
December 8, 2024 – Mayor Norris emails City Attorney Duffy, City Manager Lauren Johnston, and City Clerk Kaley Cook, an attachment titled, “Charter District 4.PDF” which was a timeline of the appointment of District 4 Seat, his interpretation of the Charter, and how he thought the City Council should move forward. He stated in his email that everyone had to be prepared to discuss “Charter District 4.PDF” at the weekly meeting on December 9.
December 9, 2024 – Weekly Meeting with Mayor Norris, City Manager Lauren Johnston, and City Attorney Marcus Duffy
Mayor Norris brings up the District 4 Seat appointment, goes through his “Charter District 4.PDF” document, and explains how he thinks the City Council violated the City Charter.
City Attorney Duffy explained to him that the City Council did not violate the Charter by appointing Council Member Gambaro. The appointment was done legally and followed the charter under the circumstances.
Mayor Norris said he will find someone to bring a lawsuit against the City or pay for a lawsuit. City Attorney Duffy responded by saying if a lawsuit is brought against the City on this item, the City will win.
Thank you for allowing me to correct the record on this matter.
Fernando Melendez says
I think that by this point Norris should spare himself the indignity of being removed by the governor and just resign. I had predicted that he’ll be gone by July but looks now like maybe by August or September. It’s been a disaster having him as mayor and quite frankly an embarrassment to say the least. Time to move on.
Call me Disappointed says
Once again the mayor is caught lying which is his MO and the City Council censures him. Again.
The mayor has become the City’s joke and his minions will follow him regardless of the lies he tells them.
It is a shameful act of treason in my opinion. And it’s time for him to go. Faraway. Forever.
Pink Stripe says
Brilliant, we have a town turned into little New York and our representatives are busy getting their pockets lined with their mini New York sub division houses springing up like mushrooms in a horse field . They bring their driving skills in addition to their political thinking none of which is an asset to Palm Coast.We have the old boys network hard at work trying to oust an elected mayor, problem is some of these persons are unelected and are causing untold funds to be exhausted at our expense. We have a corupt code enforcement division who carefully watch over who they issue violations to. We have a stormwater division collecting over $ 1,000 000 per month who tells us not to flush the big bowl or take a scrub under the shower during a storm, meanwhile the swales look like the Mississippi River passing the window. No sportscenter ( not everyone in this City is 65 plus) No swimming center apart from the possibility of being eaten on our Atlantic beach but that can’t happen since they closed off the beach until the schools go back. But dare you paint your house , and yes I do own it and personally I have a problem with unelected City officials telling me what I can or cannot do on my own property as it is. Just for their information, my neighbors house is falling apart and has never been painted in years so I take it that’s more acceptable in this City’s eyes since they turn a blind eye when it suits.
Dennis C Rathsam says
I cant make fun of the 3 stooges anymore…. Even dead, Their smarter than the intire Palm Coast City Council!
JonQPublik says
Pardon me, but did ya’ll never read about Napoleon in history class?
Jim says
The council is doing the right thing. Norris is mayor of Palm Coast in name only. He has abdicated his responsibilities. He has directly attacked the city after being told he had no standing and would lose. And, perhaps most important, he has, time and again, been shown to be a liar. We as the constituents of this city failed miserably when we elected this guy. I personally am embarrassed that a person with so many character flaws fooled me into voting for him. That was my mistake.
I’m glad they will ask the governor to remove him. Whether or not this governor will actually act – and act quickly – is another story. It will be interesting how the internal battle within the Republican ranks plays out. I just hope the right thing will be done; Norris will be removed and we can end this disaster soon.
Can only hope says
It’s been a few hours since the council finally pined this guy on the mat and with no comments from his wacky crew of minions maybe just maybe they finally figured out the guy they were standing up for all these months is a fraud, bully , a little bully at that , and not fit to hold office.
Maybe they realized how bad he is and has been for the City of Palm Coast .
Maybe he will finally be gone.
Ed Danko, former Vice-Mayor, PC says
The City Council, led by General Gambaro, made the right decision today, the only decision it could make. The outrageous conduct of Norris left absolutely no other choice. “Million Dollar Mike” and his selfish willingness to spend the city into oblivion on legal fees, is solely responsible for the disgraceful situation he has put himself in. He has proven himself to be a blatant lying deranged psychopath. I have no doubt our Governor will remove him.
James says
PLEASE Gov. DeSantis, remove this notion Mayor from office!
The Colonel says
I guess there are no ethical boundaries when it comes to politics! To watch this last council meeting was truly embarrassing! Quite honestly you all should step down for your positions.
Toxic behavior! Do you think for 1 minute that all the stuff that you’ve all have done in the media is not toxic? What kind of leadership is that? It’s shameful. Where’s the ethics in that?
Gary says
This is what happens when planted puppets are in place from a former of a joke mayor Alfin. They are all controlled by builders and their greed. Gamszo is a puppet. A total baloney bender. Followed by Sullivan another joke with the same mental capabilities of Biden. Miller is just a back stabber who got 40 k from builders to run for council. Mayor Mike wanted to clean house of all the corruption and this is the result. At least Jayson is gone. Others should follow him. Pontieri is a flipper depending on the others. Remember the BS produced by them to get Alfin amendment restructured to get him 90 million for a useless stadium. Worded it such a manner and removed lines to get it past the tax payers. These currant 4 council members are a total waste. They are not for us. We need to recall them. Danko, Alfin and clueless were in on getting Gamszo in to cause disruption . Like Danko said in a letter ” the general will scare the crsp out of Mike’s diaper”. Danko was a back stabber too.
Concerned Citizen says
We need to not only hold the Mayor responsible. But also the entire City Council.
They have bickered and fought for months on our dime. When is enough enough?
To the Palm Coast City Council and Staff. Grow up. And do the jobs you were elected to so. It has become such a toxic environment. People don’t want to work for you. Stop wasting time and money.
Really annoyed says
Seems like Norris is a thorn in someone’s side! Stay on and be that thorn!
The Colonel says
Mayor Norris has worked tirelessly to hold city leadership accountable, ensuring that the residents of Palm Coast receive the quality governance they deserve. Unfortunately, his efforts to promote accountability have been met with undue resistance. The current city council has worked aggressively to undermine Mayor Norris, creating disruption at every turn, and portraying him unfairly as a “toxic” leader.
John Stove says
Little Mike Norris needs to go…..enough of his intimidation and lies. He has to be the most useless official ever……
Coincidence that he belongs to a political party that prides it self on similar tactics on a national level?
Buh-Bye Mikey
Global indexes... says
Everything coming out of Norris’s mouth are now considered lies.
His minions on Facebook and Nextdoor are bashing the rest of the City Council because they are liars too.
This guy has many issues one can only hope he will be removed by Gov. DeSantis.
Me says
Resign and save yourself the embarrassment.
Standing in the Middle of Palm Coast Parkway says
Everyone should read Pink Stripes’ comment closely. That’s the problem here. Mike Norris and possibly many other Palm Coast residents are unhappy about many aspects of life in Palm Coast. These unhappy residents claim that elected officials are influenced by developers, that code enforcement is biased, that fees are too high, and that people don’t drive properly. They probably have many other gripes. Along came Mike Norris. Someone who may have held many of those same opinions. He ran for elected office and won. Outside of his elected role as Mayor, he has numerous people telling him he’s right and that all these things are wrong, and that they are depending on him to fix this. But he can’t.
And to make matters worse, he’s trying to twist the city charter, court proceedings, and possibly state laws in a useless attempt to make these changes. And it’s not working. And Mike’s not fulfilling the role he was elected to.
Option A. Mike apologizes for his actions and inaction to date and pays the city to cover the cost of his frivolous lawsuit. And then the next day, he goes to work as the Mayor, carrying out the duties of his office. There’s a good chance that over the remainder of his term, he can redeem himself, make Palm Coast better for everyone, and possibly become an effective elected official for all the people.
Option B. Mike digs in. Eventually, Mike will be removed from office either by the Governor or the voters. Later, the city sues the now-private citizen Mike, seeking to recoup the money wasted during his term in office. He’s forever remembered as a stubborn, ineffective former elected official.
James says
FYI… WNZF is part of a group of affiliate stations that operate on the local radio bands (both FM and AM).
Just another reminder of how odd and “creepy” Palm Coast (and by extension Flagler County) is in my opinion.
But many of you folks probably know that already.
FLF says
Please don’t oust him until after the 2025 Christmas boat parade. If you remember, he was going to be Master of Ceremonies (because the city knows how to handle a parade) and lead our flotilla with his 15′ skiff and 4 hp outboard dressed as Crack Santa leading the parade in a zig zag pattern. We’ll stay back 50 yards or so, incase he decides to come about and charge the flotilla, he’ll be met with super soakers and a barrage of other soft artillery. I’ll be sure and borrow one of moms depends and hand them to the crew for the trip as we pee ourselves laughing so hard! Can’t wait!
Critical Eye says
Voting for Mike Norris is like voting against yourself. As long as we have a choleric person as mayor there will never be peace and harmony in Palm Coast.
Tom Starling says
We have a duly elected Mayor who was elected by a majority of the citizens. Council has no right to ask the Governor to remove him from office. Doesn’t the voice of the people mean anything?
Uncrowned says
Such valor and honor comes when you serve your country … so much dedication and unselfishness as well as sacrifice as you put country before self …
It’s time… time to put your family, your self worth and your pride aside and step aside … you were born with no pre conceived notion of what good you would do with your life … however, the legacy you are leaving is overpowering the legacy you had when you ran and your constituents voted for you .. it takes a bigger man or woman to admit defeat than to go down fighting in vein.
Don’t fall on your sword… better to resign with your head held high and say “I tried to make a difference… than be removed from office”! Learn from President Nixon… he still is a memory in the Hall of Presidents as a figure because he resigned with dignity not impeached with disgrace.
Ann Williams says
Mike Norris is a disgrace as Mayor of Palm Coast. Norris was told, by city Attorneys, on multiple occasions, that the lawsuit he wanted to bring had no standing and he would not win such a lawsuit. Sadly, Norris found an Attorney who was willing to file a lawsuit against the city (an Attorney willing to take his money). This lawsuit has cost Palm Coast taxpayers in excess of $30,000!
If the city is sued, of course, they have to defend it; even when it is a frivolous lawsuit. This on going bad behavior by Mike Norris has cost Palm Coast resident dearly.
Poly Sci says
Get rid of Norris? Ok. But get rid of the 2 unelected guys too.
RitaMae says
I cannot believe Mike’s minons/followers can still support him knowing that he is not going to reimburse the city for his frivilous law suit. I’m assuming they are intelligent people. He is not the man you thought he was when you voted for him. These residents are tax payers also, don’t they understand that the money will come out of funds they are paying into and that taxes will probably go up because of this? Did they not listen when he made the statement that he doesn’t care ‘if it cost the city 1 millon dollars’? Are they walking around with blinders on, so intent on supporting him because of the dissent with the builders and overlooking the other issues. Can they not see what type of person he is. He does not care about them or Palm Coast. He is a Narcissist who only cares about himself. You should be advising him to resign and leave with some dignity, not support his lies and controversies. If I was one of his supporters, I would be questioning his actions and not trust him anymore.
PeachesMcGee says
Sadly, the military did not instill honor or integrity in this buffoon.
Hopefully this will “STOP THE BUFFOONERY”?
The dude says
Meatball Ron ain’t gonna clean up your mess.
You have exactly the mayor and council you all deserve.
YanksRuinFlagler says
@ Pink Stripe – you nailed it. This mayor is spitting image of what Palm Coast is, a cesspool. If anyone has taken the time to drive around the state and into some cities that are younger than Palm Coast, you’ll see first hand what proper planning is like. Palm Coast isn’t a pimple on these beautiful, carefully thought out cities. I truly don’t know what the attraction is for anyone to move into Palm Coast other than the name of locations named after New York, i.e., “East Hampton”, Town Center at Central Park, and every other strip mall has a “New York” style pizzeria, etc, etc. If you love and miss it that much, I-95 will take back there. Please leave.
AnotherOption says
If the voters are serious about removing the Mayor from office, then they need to looking into the recall provisions of the Florida Statute §100.36(1). There are specific requirements for a recall – in this way the voters make the determination of removal or not. Some of the specific provisions include:
– A recall cannot begin until the targeted official has served at least one-fourth of his or her term in office.
– Grounds for the recall must be provided. There are seven allowable grounds. They are “malfeasance, misfeasance, neglect of duty, drunkenness, incompetence, permanent inability to perform official duties, and conviction of a felony involving moral turpitude.”
– From the time that the recall petition is approved for circulation, signatures must be collected within 30 days.
– Once signatures are collected, the designated chair of the recall committee that collected the signatures must present them to “the auditor or clerk of the municipality or charter county, or his or her equivalent.”
– The clerk who received the signatures must then “immediately” convey the signatures to the Supervisor of Elections for the county within which the recall is taking place. The Supervisor of Elections must then proceed to inspect the signatures; a process that is by the relevant statute confined to 30 days.
-The group seeking the recall must pay to the county’s supervisor of elections in advance, “…the sum of 10 cents for each signature checked or the actual cost of checking such signatures, whichever is less.” Since the population of Palm Coast is over 50,000, the recall petition must contain at least 5% of the total number of registered voters in the city.
But it doesn’t stop there…
-The elected official has five (5) days to present a defense, and the group calling for the removal of the elected official now must start the process of gathering signatures again, this time they have 60 days to get 15% of the registered voters to sign the petition and pay the Supervisor of Elections $0.15 per signature verification.
– If it is determined that sufficient signatures were filed to force a recall election, the recall target is given 5 days to provide a written resignation. If the recall target chooses not to resign at this point, “…the chief judge of the judicial circuit in which the municipality is located shall fix a day for holding a recall election.” The date for the recall election must be “not less than 30 days or more than 60 days after the expiration of the 5-day period” given to the recall target for tendering his or her resignation
Granted the governor can remove any member of the city council, including the mayor, the recall procedure puts it in the hands of the voters but does cost more in the long run and takes longer.
Moral of the story – electors need to make sure they have elected the right people for the right job in the first place, otherwise they will have to live with their choice until the next election cycle.
Douglas Crutchley says
The fact that all people can say to support Mike Norris is that EVERYONE else is corrupt is insane to me. Hes a Republican that cant get along with Republicans (the entire City Council). He’s a Military Veteran that cant get along with other Military Veterans (Gambaro, Sullivan and Miller0). This guy is basically Trump on wish. He takes all Trumps lines and applies them in places they don’t fit. People have their heads so far up their fourth point of contact they cant just admit they backed the wrong guy. This guy was a glaring problem a long time ago. He has no clue what he’s doing. The throwing insults and creating horrible attempts at humor memes on his Facebook doesn’t tell any of you that maybe he has the maturity of a teenager? He’s a disgrace to the Uniform, the Republican party and humanity. He needs to grow up or get out. Do the right thing DeSantis!!!!
Alan says
Mr. Mayor…..i beleieve in your effort to fight the “un masked corruption in Palm Coast.
Please Go and see Govenor DeSantis….I would try and get a bus load of folks to go along with you.
Put an ad in the paper….pick a date ….i’m in and willing to help with this.
Critical Eye says
Perfect! A short bus load 1/2 full of Redneck Idiots planning an insurrection at the Florida Capitol Building. Good Luck. 😂🤣😂🤣