Mayor Mike Norris Censured Again; City Council to Request That DeSantis Removes Him

The Palm Coast City Council on Tuesday censured Mayor Mike Norris for a second time, in this instance agreeing to write a letter requesting that Gov. Ron DeSantis remove him from office. The vote is a powerful show of no confidence in Norris by his colleagues to execute his job at even the lowest base level, and pursues a completely unprecedented act of state interference in the city’s local government.

One vote was conducted for both the censure and the letter to DeSantis. It passed 4-1, with only Norris voting against his own reprimand. Vice Mayor Theresa Carli Pontieri had the city clerk come back to her, and then hesitated at-length before voting in the affirmative. Councilman Ty Miller also hesitated. If the will of the Council’s majority is put into effect, a mayor voted into office by the residents of Palm Coast will be removed by the state’s governor. A special election would be held to fill out the term, which lasts until 2028.

Tough Accusations and Sour Grapes

This latest vote came after Pontieri flatly accused Norris of lying to the City Council and to the residents. She alleged, with substantial backing evidence, that Norris had been advised that his recent lawsuit against the city seeking Councilman Charles Gambaro’s removal was without merit, and that Gambaro’s appointment was consistent with the language in the city charter. Norris said that he wasn’t advised of this. It appears as though City Attorney Marcus Duffy and fellow counsel Jeremiah Blocker did indeed give Norris this advice before he moved ahead and sued the city anyway.

Norris was also criticized for posting Gambaro’s personal cell phone number to his Facebook page. He claimed he was under the impression it was Gambaro’s city cell phone and not his personal one, saying that Gambaro had only ever contacted him from that number and that he never should’ve provided Norris his personal number. Gambaro alleged that Norris had not only opened he and his family up to harassment, but that his post had labeled Gambaro’s promotion to brigadier general in the U.S. Army as a ‘DEI hire’ (meaning ‘didn’t earn it’ in this case instead of ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’). Norris said that only Gambaro’s political appointment was unearned, and not his rank.

Final Condemnations

Council members Miller and Sullivan did not comment during the conversation. Pontieri spoke at great length, issuing a stern condemnation of what she felt was dishonesty. “I not only feel on numerous occasions you were 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,” she told him. Initially she was only speaking on the topic to advocate that the Council request Norris pay the city back its legal fees. It was Gambaro who raised the idea of another censure.

Gambaro then followed, using language that painted Norris as something of a time bomb within Palm Coast’s government. He stated: “It is my belief that Mayor Norris’ pattern of toxic behavior exhibited through fear and intimidation represents a clear and present danger to the citizens of Palm Coast…as we saw during last year’s campaign, clear and present dangers to our city employees and senior staff which was confirmed through our independent investigation, and the members of this Council, as was exhibited last Friday by releasing my private phone number and then admitting guilt and covering his tracks by changing his Facebook post to my city cell phone. But the damage was already done to my family and I.”

Mike Norris’ Angle

Norris countered by taking issue with an appearance by Gambaro on WNZF’s Free for All Friday show with David Ayres and Brian McMillan. On the show, Norris’ own number had been disseminated and the discussion was critical of his conduct as mayor. He said that Gambaro was taking things personally, although the radio episode had admittedly come across to Norris himself as personal. As for Pontieri’s objections, Norris questioned the timeline of meetings in which he’d have been given legal advice and resisted an accusation that he’d vowed to find someone to sue the city for him.

Two residents commented on the motion, one accusing the Council of exactly what Norris did in his lawsuit and the other making a plea to leave the disagreements behind. The roll call vote was then taken, with the City Council asking Ron DeSantis to kick Mike Norris out of office. If Norris is removed, there will temporarily be four City Council members, only two of whom were voted on by the residents. To have unelected members equaling or exceeding elected officials on an elected board in Flagler County or anywhere is highly unusual and uncharted. DeSantis’ decision will hinge on whether he finds exploring that territory to be warranted by the severity of Norris’ infractions.