Past crimes takes center stage in Palm Bay City Council Seat 3 race
Some politicians take no prisoners. But, in Brevard's biggest city, a few have been behind bars themselves.
So, in a way, Palm Bay's race for City Council Seat 3 is about whether voters can forgive past convictions — not so much political ones, more the criminal kind: from DUIs to even murder.
At least three candidates for the seat hope to appeal to voters' better angels and break the judgment shackles of past arrests. On Aug. 20, Palm Bay primary voters will show to what degree the city is one of redemption.
Six candidates are running for the nonpartisan seat: Alfy Ramsay Agarie, Michael J. Bruyette, Peter J. Filiberto, David Anthony Kearns, Chandler Langevin and Eileen Sepp.
If no one gets more than 50% of the vote, the top two finishers face off in a Nov. 5 runoff election. The four-year term has an annual salary of $12,722.
The seat currently is vacant because former Councilman Randy Foster resigned June 28 for health reasons and will not seek reelection, leaving a second vacancy on the five-member council.
City code allows the council to appoint a replacement within 60 days (by Sept. 9). Otherwise, it remains vacant until the Nov. 5 general election. The deadline to apply to be appointed to the seat was 5 p.m. Aug. 7.
Applicants included Alfred Agarie, William Battin, Deborah Livingston, Randall Olszewski, Rainer Warner and Philip Weinberg. On Thursday night, the City Council voted 2-1 to appoint Weinberg.
But it will be the winner among the other six candidates who qualified to run in the race that will take office after the Nov. 5 election.
The other vacancy is Seat 5 — vacant since Filiberto resigned last year after police pulled him over for suspected DUI. Six residents are running for that seat in an election that will be held on Nov. 5.
Everything to know about elections: Here's your ultimate voter guide to 2024 elections, candidates, issues in Brevard County
Palm Bay: city of palms and redemption
Political opponents often trade stone-throw jabs from glass houses. But the voters have long been more concerned about too many houses being built to begin with, too fast — and how to pay for all the water, sewer and other infrastructure they say should come first.
For many voters, a candidate's criminal record is less concerning than the increased cost of living, including city services such as water, sewer and other fees that some in the city say can feel like "highway robbery."
So while the candidates say they want to focus on the issues, including reducing crime, the unavoidable elephants of a few criminal pasts have entered the political room.
Three candidates for Seat 3 are running not so much on their records, but in spite of them:
Bruyette, 58, served three decades in prison for beating a man to death with a baseball bat in Massachusetts in 1985.
Filiberto, 36, resigned from his Seat 5 position in February 2023 almost a week after he was arrested during a motorcycle traffic stop in the Palm Bay Colony neighborhood. Police pulled him over for suspected DUI and later found a plastic container and a baggie of "white powdery substance with white rocks" in his sock. Both tested positive for presence of cocaine, according to the arrest affidavit. He was sentenced to two years of supervised probation after pleading no contest to possession of cocaine and DUI. So he was adjudicated guilty of the DUI, but adjudication was withheld on the cocaine possession charge.
Kearns, 61, pleaded no contest to a DUI in 2007 in Cocoa Beach, but says he hasn't had a drop of alcohol since.
Brevard's most populous city of about 140,000 is no stranger to city officials with a criminal past and voters willing to forgive — sometimes. In 2020, former Deputy City Manager Dave Isnardi pleaded guilty to a single felony charge related to his role in an ongoing corruption scandal. He resigned in August 2017 and is no longer in city politics.
But there's plenty of precedents for Palm Bay voters forgiving past sins.
In 1999, a felony charge from three decades prior in Pennsylvania forced former Mayor John Mazziotti out of office. He'd driven a getaway car in a robbery when he was 17, smuggled drugs across the U.S. border a few years later and spent 27 months behind bars. He won a City Council seat in 1993 and the mayorship in 1996, until some residents discovered his criminal past. But voters forgave and reelected him once then Gov. Jeb Bush had restored his civil rights to hold office: Mazziotti then was elected to City Council in 2000 and then again mayor in 2003, 2005 and 2008.
Where Palm Bay candidates stand on the issues
Past crimes aside, here's, in a nutshell, where the six candidates for Palm Bay City Council Seat 3 say they stand on the issues:
Agarie, 63, director of operations for Alfy's Trucking Inc., wants to share his experience of over 28 years as a successful business owner to make the city "a better place to live, work and play by promoting growth, infrastructure and development in employment with commercial restaurants and nightlife."
Bruyette, 58, a concrete specialist, aims "to stop homebuilding" and raise builder impact fees. He wants more police and fire personnel to meet population growth, especially in the Bayside/Compound area, and calls for the immediate firing "of upper city management and employees neglecting their jobs to wipe out the corruption that's plagued the city for years."
Filiberto, 36, a federal and private contractor, says the city needs more schools, fire stations, public safety personnel, better utilities, roads and other infrastructure — using impact fees and grants.
Kearns, 61, wants to develop "The Compound" — a 12-square-mile area of city-owned land — into "mixed-use and light-industrial zoning." He vows to find money, including funding that "may be stagnant or missing," to improve roads, drainage and other infrastructure. He'd lobby the state lawmakers to reduce the "extortionate property insurance rates affecting real estate."
Langevin, 31, says he aims to improve infrastructure, support and grow the police and fire departments and attract high-paying jobs.
Sepp, 72, on her campaign site points to accountability with taxpayer money, transparency on contract bidding and oversight of contracts, building infrastructure that keeps pace with development, and protecting seniors who are property owners against rising assessments.
Campaign cash on hand
Here's how much campaign money each has and has spent (through July 26):
Alfy Agarie: $4,450 in monetary contributions and $2,674 spent.
Michael Bruyette: $270 in monetary contributions, $170 spent.
Peter Filiberto: $250 in monetary contributions, $2,500 in-kind contributions (website and signs), $177 spent.
David Kearns: $1,460 monetary contributions, $1,055 spent.
Chandler Langevin: $10,310 in monetary contributions, $4,350 spent.
Eileen Sepp: $3,328 in monetary contributions, $2,863 spent.
More: Mayor calls for resignation Palm Bay Mayor Rob Medina encourages Council member Filiberto to resign after felony drug arrest
More: Filiberto sentenced to probation Former Palm Bay City Councilman Peter Filiberto sentenced to probation in plea offer
The other City Council vacancy was created when Filiberto resigned from his Seat 5 position in February 2023 after his arrest.
Filiberto provided this statement regarding his arrest:
"Life comes with hardships, no matter who you are, whether it is self-inflicted or external circumstances. Many people overcome the trials and tribulations, but it is important to learn from it.
"I neglected my own health, and learned that I could have easily become a statistic. The incident is behind me and is fully resolved," he said, adding that during his almost one-year tenure on the Council, "my name has not been mentioned in any FBI or bribery investigations.
"My goals and priorities are to create a better community for Palm Bay, as we the residents still have unfinished business to tend to - visit PeteFiliberto.com"
Bruyette murder conviction
Among the most controversial candidates is Bruyette, who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in 1986. He has said in local media interviews that his conviction wasn't the full story.
According to his 2016 parole records:
In 1986, Bruyette pleaded guilty to second-degree murder of 30-year old Thomas Grimshaw and was sentenced to life in prison with possibility of parole. Bruyette also pleaded to conspiracy to commit murder and got seven- to 10-year sentence to run from and after his life sentence.
Grimshaw's estranged wife, 23-year-old Lisa Grimshaw, had solicited then-19-year-old Bruyette and two other men to kill Grimshaw, telling them she'd been physically abused by her husband, and that he had a $300,000 life insurance policy she'd share with them if they helped her kill him. She drove Bruyette and another man to a boat launch in Chicopee, Massachusetts, where they hid.
Early June 5, 1985, Lisa Grimshaw picked up her husband at work as he was getting off shift and lured him into the car "with promise of sex," drove him to the boat launch, where Bruyette and the other man were waiting with bats in hand. Bruyette struck the victim in the back of the head and face repeatedly, and stole his wallet. They left the body by the riverbank and tossed the bats out the window as they fled in her car.
"I'm not one that's going to stand around and watch someone be victimized like that," Bruyette told News 6. "I kind of regret getting involved, because it cost me a lot of my life and it cost me a lot of judgments. I'm asking the people for another chance."
Here's more about who the candidates are:
Alfy Ramsay Agarie
Age: 63
Education: Bachelor's degree in business administration and management, College of Arts, Science and Technology, Kingston, Jamaica
Occupation: Director of operations for Alfy's Trucking Inc. (bidding and negotiations).
Political/government/civic experience: Founder and president of nonprofit West Indian Caribbean Culture and Sports Inc.; member of Brevard Caribbean American Sports & Cultural Association, and volunteer for "many city boards and committees"
Top issues and what you'd do about them? On the city's biographical form, on the question, "Why do you want to be a member of city council?" he answered in writing: "I would love to share my experience of over 28 years as a successful business owner … to make this great city to be a better place to live, work and play by promoting growth, infrastructure and development in employment with commercial restaurants and night life."
He told FLORIDA TODAY: "The biggest problem we have is that the infrastructure the city is a mess. … The city has grown so much. Nothing is done in the city to accommodate the extra 40,000 people (since 2020). It's so scary."
He said the impact fees need to focus on fixing the problems where the impacts occur. "To me, the city is just not running as a business. It's a very big business and it's not operating as a business."
Campaign phone number: 321-508-9624
Campaign email: [email protected]
Michael J. Bruyette
Age: 58
Education: Some college
Occupation: Present employment is concrete specialist for Leo's Concrete Specialties in Palm Bay.
Top issues and what you'd do about them?
"Stop homebuilding: I would propose to stop homebuilding and raise builder impact fees. We need resources in those areas to catch up to a 17.09% home increase since 2022. Infrastructure, etc.
"Public safety: I would propose more police and fire personnel for a vast growth in population, homes. And the crime rate, especially in the Bayside/Compound area.
"Accountability: I propose immediate termination of both upper city management and employees neglecting their jobs. Or actions against the citizens of Palm Bay. And my goal is to wipe out the corruption that has plague this city for years."
Campaign phone number: 407-984-9775
Campaign email: [email protected]
Peter J. Filiberto
Age: 36
Education: Bachelor of Arts, political science, Florida International University
Occupation: Federal and private contractor
Political/government/civic experience: Palm Bay City Council member; Palm Bay Bayfront Redevelopment Agency; Palm Bay Citizens’ Budget Advisory Committee; Brevard County Planning & Zoning (vice chair); Brevard County Local Planning Agency (vice chair); Space Coast Transportation Planning Organization Advisory Committee; Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast (Palm Bay representative)
Top issues and what you'd do about them? As the city expands in land area and population, there is a need for more schools, increased public safety personnel, better utilities and improved roads. As councilman, I have addressed many of these issues, and now it is time to follow through by providing more fire stations, additional schools and better infrastructure using impact fees and grants. In order to achieve these goals, Palm Bay needs a leader who cares enough, knows enough, will do enough, and who is persistent enough to represent the taxpayers of Palm Bay.
Campaign email: [email protected]
Campaign phone number: 321-508-0071
Website or Facebook page: Petefiliberto.com
David Anthony Kearns
Age: 61
Education: Bachelor of Science, oceanography, Florida Institute of Technology
Occupation: Artist; actor; author; retired journalist; former teacher; former Realtor for Century 21, Indian River
Top issues and what you'd do about them?
The Compound needs to be developed into an economic engine for the city using mixed-use and light-industrial zoning. I have connections for film and television may looking at space for studios.
Roads, drainage, infrastructure: Find funding, discover any funds that may be stagnant or missing.
Property insurance: Lobbying Tallahassee to reduce the extortionate property insurance rates affecting real estate.
Political/government experience: Former candidate Florida House (2014 and 2016, District 53). Newspaper City Council reporter, Sebastian Sun, Indian River Press Journal, FLORIDA TODAY
Campaign phone number: 321-525-0117
Campaign email: [email protected]
Website or Facebook page: David Kearns
Chandler Austin Langevin
Age: 31
Education: Eastern Florida State College
Occupation: Veteran coordinator, St. Francis Reflections
Political/government/civic experience: 10 years as a Navy hospital corpsman attached to the Marines with deployments to Afghanistan and the Pacific; board of directors at Odyssey Charter School; teach civics through "Vets Back to Class"
Website or Facebook page: www.facebook.com/chandler.langevin
Top issues and what you'd do about them?
Improve aging infrastructure.
Support and grow Palm Bay Police and Fire Departments.
Attract high paying jobs to the city. We should work where we live.
Campaign phone number: 321-576-4163
Campaign email: [email protected]
Eileen Mary Sepp
Age: 72
Education: Lehman College in New York, Bachelor of Arts degree in physical education, minors in political science and English
Occupation: Her campaign website says she is retired, but lists experience at "small to medium-sized businesses and not-for-profits and that led to Fortune 500 companies such as GE, Merrill Lynch and Pitney Bowes. Positions I have held have included from technician, data analyst, auditor, paralegal, administration and management, finance, system implementation, industrial engineering and business consulting to the C-suite."
Political/government/civic experience: A member of the Apollo XI Parliamentarian Unit of the National Association of Parliamentarians; Brevard Republican Executive Committee; Federated Republican Women in Action; Republican Women's Club of Brevard; a part of the Prosperity Initiative and a volunteer at the nonprofit Marine Resource Council.
Top issues and what you'd do about them?
Sepp told FLORIDA TODAY: "One of the biggest reasons I'm running is because people don't feel like they're being heard." She said City Council seems more interested in growing the city than protecting current property owners. She wants "zero budgeting," so the city only spends what it takes in. "A really good leader has vision."
Sepp's campaign site also cites accountability of taxpayers' money, transparency on contract bidding and focus on adequate infrastructure.
Campaign phone number: 917-975-8850
Campaign email: [email protected]
Campaign website: www.eileensepp4pbcouncil.com/meet-eileen
Contact Waymer at 321-261-5903 or [email protected]. Follow him on X/Twitter at @JWayEnviro.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Palm Bay City Council Seat 3 race features candidates with past crimes
