'The Lord directed me not to come': Palm Bay mayor skips meetings, no council member appointed
Saying "the Lord directed me not to come," Palm Bay Mayor Rob Medina missed three straight meetings last month and declined to help appoint a replacement for former councilman Peter Filiberto, who resigned his Seat 5 post after a high-profile arrest.
Now, a 60-day window for the Palm Bay City Council to appoint a new Seat 5 member has expired. And an outside legal opinion released Monday concludes the five-member council will operate with only four members until November 2024.
“When it came to this, the spirit was overwhelmingly uneasy. And I yield to God in everything I do," Medina said from the dais April 20 while explaining his decision to not attend those special meetings on April 13, 17 and 18.
"For those of you that called me a coward, I condemn those words. Matter of fact, I cast them down to the depths of hell where they belong," Medina said.
Previous coverage: Former Palm Bay City Councilman Peter Filiberto sentenced to probation in plea offer
'Seriously?' Palm Bay police release bodycam of Peter Filiberto arrest
Arrest aftermath: Council Member Filiberto's cocaine-DUI arrest raises questions for fellow Palm Bay council members
Palm Bay police charged Filiberto with possession of cocaine and DUI during a Feb. 11 motorcycle traffic stop. He resigned six days later, and a wide-ranging field of 33 hopefuls applied for the Seat 5 post.
Palm Bay council needs three members present to make decisions valid
Medina and Filiberto are Republicans, while Deputy Mayor Donny Felix and council members Randy Foster and Kenny Johnson are Democrats. The City Council was first scheduled to appoint Filiberto's replacement on April 13. But Medina did not attend — and Foster, who continues recovering from a medical emergency, attended via phone.
Three council members had to be physically present at City Hall to constitute a quorum, so the meeting was canceled. Afterward, Johnson requested special meetings for April 17 and 18 to try to make an appointment.
But Medina did not attend and Foster attended by phone, so both of those meetings were called off as well. Medina said he believes the 60-day appointment process was flawed, and he felt no peace.
"As for the special council meetings, the Lord directed me not to come. Whether there would be four of us on this dais or even one, I was not going to attend," Medina said during the April 20 City Council meeting.
"Because I yield to the man that's upstairs. I yield to the one true living God. It didn't matter what happened," Medina said.
'Pure evil': Palm Bay police chief criticizes judicial system after 69-year-old man is slain
Behind the scenes: First Flight helicopter crew saves lives during Space Coast emergencies
After Medina's remarks, Felix, Foster and Johnson criticized him for missing the meetings. Johnson said it was uncalled for and unethical.
“Now, the seat’s going to be vacant. If it’s a 2-2 vote, items die. And that’s just how it is. So that’s how it’s going to be until 2024," Johnson said.
During Monday's City Council meeting, Medina expressed interest in pursuing a resolution to call for a Seat 5 special election. But City Attorney Patricia Smith referenced a five-page legal opinion by the Tallahassee law firm Nabors, Giblin & Nickerson, which said Palm Bay's charter indicates the Seat 5 special election should be held concurrently with the regularly scheduled election of City Council members — in November 2024.
"As Council did not complete the appointment process within 60 days, Seat 5 will be vacant until the resultsof the November 2024 election are certified," City Manager Suzanne Sherman previously said in an April 19 memo to council members.
The City Council had ranked the 33 candidates in order of preference, with 1 point representing a No. 1 choice and 33 points representing last place. The five highest-ranking finalists: Aaron Parr (16 points), Kay Maragh (34 points), former mayor William Capote (40 points), Phil Moore (40 points) and Michael Jaffe (43 points).
In March, Filiberto pleaded no contest to possession of cocaine and DUI. He was sentenced to two years of supervised probation with the Florida Department of Corrections.
Palm Bay City Council Seat 5 history
Jeff Bailey won election to a Seat 5 four-year term in November 2018. He resigned to take an out-of-state job effective August 2021.
Peter Filiberto won a March 2022 special election to serve the remainder of Bailey’s term. Then Filiberto ran unopposed in November, securing a new four-year term.
Filiberto resigned on Feb. 17 after his arrest, and a 60-day window for the City Council to appoint his replacement has expired.
Per city charter, special elections to fill vacancies will run concurrent with regularly scheduled city elections. So the seat will remain vacant until the November 2024 election.
Rick Neale is the South Brevard Watchdog Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY (for more of his stories, click here.) Contact Neale at 321-242-3638 or [email protected]. Twitter: @RickNeale1
Support local journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Palm Bay, Florida mayor declines to appoint council member, cites God
