The drama shows no sign of abating for the Lake Wales City Commission.
When the Commission met Tuesday night for a regular session, Kris Fitzgerald was expected to be back at the table following a nearly two-year absence. Florida Gov Ron DeSantis issued an executive order last week, rescinding a previous order that had suspended Fitzgerald following an arrest in July 2021.
DeSantis’ new order came seven months after a Polk County jury acquitted Fitzgerald on two charges.
But the chair for the Seat 4 commissioner remained vacant as Tuesday’s meeting began, and City Attorney Chuck Galloway soon explained why. At some point during her suspension, Galloway, said, Fitzgerald moved out of her district, and under the city charter that means she vacated her position.
Under questioning from Vice Mayor Robin Gibson, Galloway said that the charter provides no option for allowing Fitzgerald to retake her spot on the City Commission.
As of Wednesday, it was not clear what would happen next. The charter dictates that if a commissioner leaves office for reasons including forfeiture, the seat will be filled by a majority vote of the remaining members.
Gibson, running the meeting in the absence of Mayor Jack Hilligoss, said the Commission would take no such action Tuesday night. The likely candidate for appointment would seem to be Daniel Krueger, who was elected to Seat 4 last year.
The Commission initially appointed Hilligoss to the spot in 2021, but he ran for mayor last year, opening the way for Krueger’s election.
Fitzgerald, 43, addressed the Commission during public comments at Tuesday night’s meeting. She said that her life had been “turned upside down” by the arrest and subsequent legal battle, along with her suspension from the Commission.
“Because my work was disrupted, I was not working for two years,” said Fitzgerald, a counselor. “I couldn’t work under my license. I couldn’t work with anyone under the age of 18.”
As a result, she said, she was forced to leave her home in District 4 for financial reasons. She asked that the Commission give her time to relocate back into the district.
“I don’t agree with this,” Fitzgerald said of Galloway’s description of the city rules. “I feel like it’s unethical and unjust. Now, again, not just for myself, but again, for voters that went out and voted.”
Fitzgerald, whose speech drew a few bursts of applause, said that she had been in touch with attorneys, adding, “I do plan on taking this as far as possible to gain the seat back, because that’s what the voters asked for.”
Gibson, a lawyer, said he had researched the subject and agreed with Galloway that the City Commission had no authority to overrule the charter on residency rules for members. He described the relevant guideline as “self-actuating,” meaning that it takes effect automatically when a commissioner violates the residency requirement.
Neither Galloway nor Gibson saw any exception in the fact that Fitzgerald had not known she might be reinstated at the time she moved. DeSantis waited seven months after her acquittal to issue the order revoking her suspension.
“We know what you would like to have,” Gibson told Fitzgerald. “What we’re interested in is hearing how we can accomplish that. And we will hear from your attorneys with regard to how that can be done.”
Fitzgerald could not be reached Wednesday for further comment.
Commissioner Daniel Williams said DeSantis’ office told the city that Fitzgerald “had to take the initial steps” in being reinstated. He said that after Fitzgerald did so, Galloway contacted the governor’s office and did not receive a response.
“It was delayed for a period of time, and no one knows why,” he said.
A jury last October acquitted Fitzgerald on two charges, interference with custody and aggravated assault, ending a two-day trial in Bartow.
A Florida statute says that if a municipal official is acquitted or otherwise cleared of charges that were the reason for a suspension, “then the Governor shall forthwith revoke the suspension and restore such municipal official to office.”
Aubrey Jewett, a political science professor at the University of Central Florida, said that Lake Wales had no way of restoring Fitzgerald to the Commission, based on his reading of the city charter. Jewett said he had never heard of such a situation arising in Florida.
“It’s pretty convoluted,” Jewett said. “This sounds like one of those convoluted questions that clever law professor would put on their law final to sort of test the student’s ability to have reason and logic and figure out what the law would require. That’s what this kind of reminds me of.”
During public comments Tuesday night, a few citizens said they would like to see Fitzgerald returned to the Commission. Juanita Zwaryczuk said that Fitzgerald was unjustly accused and that the Commission should find a way to “fix” the situation, allowing her to return.
Charlene Bennett asked commissioners to show “a little bit of leeway.”
“After all, you folks have been breaking rules all year, we all know,” Bennett said. She cited Hilligoss’ actions in denying requests for city proclamations and mentioned Williams’ absences from meetings early in his term.
Michelle Threatt, who unsuccessfully ran for the City Commission last month, described herself as a friend of Fitzgerald’s. She supplemented the former commissioner’s description of the turmoil caused by the legal episode, saying that Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd’s news conference announcing the charges against Fitzgerald had been viewed by millions.
“What she didn’t also tell you is she received death threats from people that got her address,” Threatt said. “She lost her income. I know these things because we talked about it. We cried about it. We prayed about it.”
Threatt said that Lake Wales had given City Manager James Slaton six months to move into the city after hiring him. That allowance, though, conformed with the city charter.
Gibson at times responded to citizens, asking for an explanation of what remedy the Commission might devise for Fitzgerald.
“One thing that is vexing is when people come up here — and now they’re gone — so, people come up here and say, ‘Well, you guys bend it this way, and you bend it that way. And you can do this and you can do that,’ ” Gibson said. “I don’t know of any way that we can change anything that is self-executing and provides no discretion for the City Commission. As far as I know, there’s not even a shade of light in a partially open door for it.”
Gibson and Williams expressed sympathy for Fitzgerald. Williams grew emotional while discussing her plight and also expressed anger that some residents have accused the City Commission of not wishing to see her return.
The City Commission’s next official meeting is a work session on May 31.