Special Election Considered as Marco Council Deadlock Continues

Marco Island City Council failed to garner consensus to appoint a seventh council member on Monday. According to the City Charter, Council had until January 6 to fill the vacancy, City Clerk Joan Taylor said. 

The gridlock on the selection of a chair and vice chair similarly continued since new members joined the Council following the November election.  

“I think we’re at an impasse,” Marco Island City Attorney David Tolces declared after the first three hours of discussions on Monday. 

Not one of the four Council finalists, which included Daniel Bryant, David Leaser, Teri Sommerfield, and Martin Winter, could garner more than half of City Council’s support on Monday.  

Council was able to designate their top two choices of the four, which were Leaser and Sommerfield, for the seat that was left vacant by the resignation of former Councilman Greg Folley. Folley vacated his seat mid-term in November because he ran for State House District 81, though he lost the election to Yvette Benarroch during the primary.  

How to Overcome a Council Gridlock 

Council members said they anticipated the gridlock at the outset of the meeting on Monday. Councilman Stephen Gray suggested a special election to give the voters the chance to decide their seventh council member.  

However, Tolces advised that a special election for the selection of the seventh council member was in violation of the City Charter. The Charter states that Council shall select their seventh member by majority vote of the Council, Tolces advised.  

Acting Chairman Erik Brechnitz continued to consider the possibility of a special election as a means to involve the community and move past the deadlock, he suggested.  

“Special election is not authorized under the Charter,” Tolces continued. 

“I didn’t say it was authorized. I said it was permissible,” Brechnitz countered.  

“What is the consequence if we are in deadlock?” Brechnitz then asked Tolces. 

“If you’re deadlocked and cannot appoint a seventh member, someone could sue the council,” Tolces replied.  

Otherwise, there is no penalty, Tolces said. 

“There is no action that necessarily will come before the City for the failure to appoint the seventh Council member,” Tolces said.  

“‘Shall’ does not give you any wiggle room,” he continued.  

A resident could file an action against the city, Tolces warned.  

“I don’t want to sit up here and give someone a roadmap for suing the city,” he said. 

Councilwoman Bonita Schwan suggested Council consider Allyson Richards, chairwoman of Marco’s parks and recreation committee, although she was not an applicant.  

Councilman Darrin Palumbo said he could support such a concept, but other council members did not. 

The suggestion to consider the fifth vote-getter from the November election, which was former Councilwoman Becky Irwin, also failed to get enough support from Council. 

During public comment, Marco Island resident Lynn Nathanson offered to put up the approximate $50,000 to $55,000 expense to hold a special election and to then create a GoFundMe fundraising campaign to recoup the funds, she said.  

Council, however, as of Monday, chose to stay in line with the city attorney and city manager's advice. 

“You took an oath as Council members when you chose to take those seats to support the Charter of the City of Marco Island,” said City Manager Mike McNees. 

“What I believe is at play here is residual energy from a divided election,” McNees said. 

“Everyone understands politics is not a team sport. But governance is a team sport,” he said.  

“There are 26 people willing to serve. At least one person in that whole batch is qualified to be a City Council member,” said McNees of the applicants.  

“What there isn’t is one who can’t be tainted with one side or the other. It’s going to mean maybe someone is going to have to compromise,” he said. 

Gray and Schwan agreed before and after impasse to further consideration of the other applicants, of which there were 26 total, but Council did not do so as of Monday.  

Brechnitz said there was a lack of stamina to continue toward or beyond midnight and Councilwoman Deb Henry was concerned with paying City staff overtime to continue into the middle of the night, she said. 

At the next Council meeting scheduled 5:30 PM, Tuesday, January 20, Council will revisit the selection of the seventh council member, either continuing to review the 26 candidates who applied; proposing other candidates for consideration; or considering an ordinance or resolution to hold a special election.  

Council Heard from Four Council Finalists 

Henry suggested the process of having Council members allot two points to their first choice and one point to their second choice out of the four City Council finalists, and that process seemingly led to progress but not to a final outcome.  

Council narrowed the four finalists down to two top point-getters, but Council was not committed to whether those two people - Sommerfield and Leaser - would continue to be their finalists since neither could garner the necessary support to become the seventh council member.  

Council had selected the four finalists following reviews of 26 resumes, applications and hour-long interviews, in addition to the public meetings.  

Council allowed each of the four finalists to provide public statements and answer additional questions from Council on Monday.  

Councilwoman Tamara Goehler, Gray and Brechnitz supported Sommerfield while Palumbo, Henry and Schwan did not. The same 3-3 split continued for each of the finalists. 

Sommerfield described her many concerns with the island upon her arrival in 2017, including what she called “dysfunctional city councilors,” a city manager alleged to have committed battery in 2018; police having sex on duty with a young girl behind the cemetery; a “Valentine’s Day massacre,” where a new city manager was pressured to fire staff, among several other concerns, she said.  

"That makes us look like a circus. Yes I may look negative because of that, but as a nurse, who cares about people, I find it intolerable,” said Sommerfield, who has decades of experience in hospital administration.  

Sommerfield’s previous opposition to the assisted living facility on the island and participation in the Take Back Marco political action committee, which worked to create the now defunct short-term rental registration, failed to garner her enough Council support, council members said. 

Leaser was complimentary of the current Council and said he would bring innovation to the dais if selected. As a member of the city’s beautification advisory committee, Leaser championed a program to plant thousands of trees on the island at no cost to the City, with Marco Island otherwise being one of Florida’s most deprived areas of trees, he said. 

Henry expressed concern that Bryant may not yet have the experience necessary to serve on Council and may be better suited after serving on an advisory committee.  

All of the candidates agreed that the island’s waterways were among the most critical issues facing the City. Winter was recognized for his service on the Waterways Committee but was not able to garner enough of the necessary support to gain the appointment either. 

Council Fails to Select a Chairperson 

Brechnitz, the former Council’s selected vice chair, continues to serve as acting chairman while Council remains stalemated on the matter. 

Schwann suggested Council consider a rotating chair while the seventh member is yet to be selected.  

However, Gray said he would prefer consistency in the meantime. 

Selection of the chair, vice chair and final seventh council member are to be on the next Council meeting agenda. 

The next Council meeting is scheduled for 5:30 PM Tuesday, January 20, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr Day.