Judge denies Mayor Mike Norris' bid to remove Charles Gambaro from council
Norris filed the lawsuit against the city of Palm Coast, Flagler County Supervisor of Elections Kaiti Lenhart and Gambaro.
Norris was represented by Attorney Anthony Sabatini who in the lawsuit argued that the City Council violated the city charter by failing to put Gambaro's seat up for a vote in the same November election in which Norris was voted into office.
Sabatini said Gambaro's term ended on the night of the election in 2024.
Circuit Judge Christopher France asked Sabatini about what standing Norris had to challenge the appointment.
Sabatini argued that Norris had standing as a resident of Palm Coast affected by the actions of the City Council. He also argued that Norris was 'injured' because his votes were diluted by the votes in the council.
Norris filed his lawsuit as mayor, but under the city charter, the mayor cannot make such a claim unless approved by the City Council.
The attorney for the city and Gambaro, Rachael Crews, argued that Norris did not have standing based on Florida law; only the attorney general or the person who claims to be the rightful holder of the seat could challenge. She also spoke about the timing and discretionary language in the city charter.
Crews also said that, according to the charter, even if the court were to remove Gambaro, the position would be filled by an appointment, not an election. She said the charter only called for a special election to fill the mayor's seat or in the event of a recall.
In a previous email to The News-Journal, Norris said he was funding the lawsuit to remove Gambaro from the council.
Gambaro did not attend the hearing.
Norris declined to comment after the verdict was read.
The lawsuit is another front in Norris' fight against the city.
Norris received a unanimous vote of no confidence in April by his four fellow council members last month.
The no-confidence vote stemmed from a 57-page report released April 21 regarding allegations that Norris violated the city charter, interfered with city employees and behaved unprofessionally.
The Palm Coast City Council on May 9 submitted the letter filing a formal complaint against Norris with the Florida Ethics Commission.
Norris' complaint to remove Gambaro states that the city charter gives the council two options if a council member "vacates their seat during the first two years of their term": Either appoint someone within 90 days or delay the appointment, according to a previous News-Journal story. If the council makes an appointment, that councilmember only serves until "the next regularly scheduled election."
Palm Coast District 4 Councilmember Cathy Heighter resigned in August, and the council appointed Gambaro 3-1 (with only four members on the panel at that point) to replace her Oct. 1. Those in favor were previous Mayor David Alfin, previous Vice Mayor Ed Danko and previous Councilman Nick Klufas. All three were voted out in November. Theresa Pontieri, the only one to retain her seat after the election, supported Darryl Boyer.
According to Norris' complaint, the city charter would have required Gambaro's appointment to expire after the Nov. 5 election. It is Norris' position that the city "has continued to allow Gambaro to occupy the seat beyond the term authorized by the charter."
In a social media post referring to the hearing, Norris wrote "Independence Day is gonna get a lot better this year!"
In its response to Norris, the city argued that the mayor was trying to use the judicial system to oust a political opponent and force a costly election, which would not be authorized by the city charter anyway.
Attorney Crews, representing the city and Gambaro, filed a response on Thursday, May 29, listing a number of reasons Norris' request for Gambaro's removal should be denied.
n the response, Crews wrote that Norris 'comes to the court with unclean hands' because he was 'improperly using the judicial system to undo a political opponent.'
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Palm Coast mayor's court bid to remove councilman denied
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