Executing the closest approximation of a midnight appointment in the city’s 25-year history, the Palm Coast City Council, with three of four members in their last weeks of service, appointed Charles Gambarro this evening to the seat Cathy Heighter resigned suddenly in August.
The council passed over Darryl Boyer, the recently defeated candidate for the State House. He was clearly the public’s favorite, and was championed by Council member Theresa Pontieri.
“My focus is entirely on the search, the identification and the selection of an exceptional city manager, which this city has sorely needed for a very long time,” Mayor David Alfin said. That’s why, he said, he was “trying to peel away the fan favorite” in order to choose the candidate best able to fill that responsibility.
“I just feel that whoever is sitting up here needs to be very in tune with the needs of our community,” Pontieri said, “and I just feel that Mr Boyer is more in touch with those needs than anybody.”
Danko wanted Gambarro. He was opposed to Boyer because “you just can’t move into a district after you lose an election and expect to be voted on.” Danko also doubted Boyer’s “gravitas,” since Renner endorsed Greco. “As much as I like Darryl, I can’t vote for Darryl.”
Pontieri bushed back against the “carpetbagger” criticism of Boyer, underscored his background and experience in Tallahassee, and made the motion for Boyer. Council member Nick Klufas seconded, but only for discussion’s sake–and tipping his hand: he was for Gambarro. Klufas said the next council’s responsibility for picking a new city manager was one reason Gambarro would be in a better position to carry out that responsibility.
Pontieri said if the democratic process were to have a role, Boyer had knocked on thousands of doors and earned thousands of votes. He did not win, she said, but that may have spoken more to his opponent’s money than to Boyer’s capabilities.
The motion for Boyer failed on a 2-2 vote. Danko’s motion for Gambarro carried 3-1, with Pontieri in dissent.
The decision was marred by the revelation that there may have been a sunshine violation in the run-up to the vote: Danko had replied to a citizen’s email in such a way–replying to all, including all council members–that it revealed to the rest of the council how he intended to vote this evening. The “reply to all” was unintentional, he said. City Attorney Marcus Duffy could not guide the council based on the information he had this evening, since he had just heard of it.
All the candidates were in attendance, most of them shoulder-to-shoulder in a front row, including Gambarro. Boyer sat a few rows further back. (For the first hour they witnessed the more ceremonial part of the job–five proclamations were on the agenda–and listened to the first public comment segment.)
Gambarro swiftly took the oath of office and took his seat.
The process had been workmanlike, at least at first. The council members had a worksheet listing the nine candidates. The council members were to mark their three leading candidates, if they had three to mark. The clerk then tabulated the results. If any candidate had a majority of three, with none other, that ended it.
Two applicants got three votes each: Darryl Boyer and Charles Gambaro. Demetrios Maroosis, Ronald Nakabaale, Meredith Rodriguez, and Robert Bogges, each got one vote.
Gambarro, 46, who has combined a military career with business, had been an appointed member of the Flagler County School Board almost two years ago, replacing Jim Guines, who had resigned, though he was soundly defeated when he ran for the seat. Boyer, 25, lost the Aug. 20 Republican primary to Sam Greco for the House seat currently held by Paul Renner. Both have deep ties to the Republican Party.
Surprisingly, neither Sandra Shank, who has served several years on the city’s planning board (and as such has a bounty of experience in one of the city’s principal issues: growth) nor Vincent Lyon, the attorney who previously served as an appointed member of the council, got a vote.
The council members were ready to make a motion after that first ballot, but opted to hear public comment. The council had scheduled a Sept. 24 workshop to hear public voices, but that workshop was canceled because of illness among several council members.
Several people advocated for Boyer. Five members of the public voiced their disappointment to the council over Shank’s absence from the council’s choices–one of them called herself “shocked”–and urged council members to rethink their choices. Shank herself spoke–both to alert the community to the “political process” on display this evening, and to advocate for Boyer.
“As I know my capabilities, I know my skills, and I know my commitment, and though you did not vote for me, that does not mean that there isn’t a vote for me,” Shank said. “Thank you. I will continue to serve this community as vice chair of the planning board and as a member of the affordable housing Advisory Committee.”
Jeff Seib, a candidate for a council seat, also spoke, but to oppose the process. “This isn’t the Politburo. This is America. We vote for our governmental leaders. It’s the American way,” he said. The seat should have been held over for an election, he said.
“You have to play Solomon today. That’s not an easy task,” Ed Fuller, one of the people who spoke to the council, said, before plugging Boyer: “Both very qualified, but one of the candidates, when he goes to Tallahassee, they know him,” Fuller said. “They shake his hand. They recognize him. He’s been up there. He’s been up there with the Speaker of the House, Paul Renner. He wasn’t just up there glad-handing, he was out there watching the legislation, see how it goes. We’re going to need that type of relationship.”
This evening’s agenda packages were distributed to all the candidates ahead of this evening’s meeting, so whoever was selected would be ready for the evening’s business.
