Norris Ethics Complaint Dismissed, With ‘No Factual Investigation’ Conducted

An ethics complaint filed against Palm Coast Mayor Mike Norris was dismissed last week, citing ‘lack of legal sufficiency’. The dismissal of the complaint by the Florida Commission on Ethics does not, however, mean the Commission concluded that Norris had committed no ethical wrongdoing. They explicitly stated that “[N]o factual investigation preceded the review, and therefore the Commission’s conclusions do not reflect on the accuracy of the allegations of the complaint”.

Norris was quick to declare the dismissal a victory in his efforts to resist allegations of malfeasance and unethical behavior by his City Council colleagues. The complaint was filed by Vice Mayor Theresa Carli Pontieri, who along with the other three Council members has twice voted to censure Norris and express no confidence in him. They’ve even voted to request Gov. Ron DeSantis remove Norris, with only the mayor himself opposing that vote.

• Ethics Complaint Against Mike Norris
• Florida Commission on Ethics’ Dismissal of Norris Complaint

What Mike Norris Said

“[A]s of this week, the Florida Commission on Ethics has officially dismissed the complaint filed by the Vice Mayor (who is up for reelection this cycle) due to insufficient legal standing,” Norris posted to his Facebook page last Friday. “Another failed attempt to silence the voice of the voters.” While his statement is definitively true in the literal sense, it has been interpreted in discourse as an exoneration of the mayor. As the complaint was not investigated on its merits by the Commission, this conclusion is inaccurate.

So how can the complaint be found legally insufficient without a factual investigation? The dismissal filing provided a detailed reasoning. The crux of the ruling is that some of the independent investigation into Norris commissioned by the City Council relies on what it considers to be hearsay information. Whether the investigation’s findings are true or not, the Florida Commission on Ethics finds it to be outside the scope of what it has the legal authority to act on.

What The Dismissal Actually Says

The ruling addresses a particular allegation that Norris attempted to initiate the firings of acting City Manager Lauren Johnston and Chief of Staff Jason DeLorenzo. If true, this allegation would mean Norris violated Palm Coast’s city charter. The filing states that, whether Norris did or did not do as the investigation alleged, he did not stand to benefit personally from having done so. A violation of the city charter may be highly problematic and/or illegal, but according to the Commission does not represent an actionable ethics violation.

Norris was also accused of fostering a hostile work environment at City Hall. He admitted that he likened an employee’s toenail polish to a trash bag, that he called the HR director’s outfit a ‘Hillary Clinton pantsuit’, that he described a parade production as ‘crappy’, and that he speculated about older employees being more expensive to the city. However, because all of these instances were not the direct knowledge of the complainant (Vice Mayor Pontieri), they are considered to be hearsay. Plus, like the alleged firing attempts, they do not constitute an obvious personal benefit to Norris or a private associate of his which would establish corruption.