Fort White In Turmoil: Mayor & Temp Agency Clerks Jettison Rule of Law To Fill Vacated Council Seat
March 3, 2025 12:48 pm | 5 min read
Photo: Columbia County Observer
Fort White, FL – Fort White in turmoil: Mayor & Temp Agency Clerks jettison rule of law to fill vacated council seat
Background
In January 2025, the Town of Fort White (“the Town”) saw the resignation of the Town Clerk, the Deputy Clerk, the Town Attorney, and City Councilman Janson Florence. These resignations were not just a coincidence.
During the run-up to the Town mayoral election in November, the Town Clerk was warned by then candidate for Mayor George Jacob Thomas that if elected, he was going to cut the Clerk's salary. The Clerk began looking for another job when Mr. Thomas defeated incumbent Mayor Ronnie Frazier.
In January, the District 2 Councilman resigned. The Town Clerk filed her resignation. Then the Deputy Clerk filed her resignation, and the Town Attorney, apparently having had his fill of drama dealing with the folks that run Columbia County, filed his resignation.
Mayor Thomas has no governmental experience. His
inexperience has been evident.
The new Mayor, George Jacob Thomas, had no previous governmental experience or any knowledge of how government works, and it appeared – where to look for that knowledge.
The Town Charter, passed by the Florida legislature in 2023 after screw-ups by what appears to be the Town consultant and Attorney at the time, states what the duties of the Mayor are. Besides kissing babies, there is not a lot the Charter defines as mayoral duties.
While Dennis Rivera was given the "oath," to fill the vacated District 2 seat, the Council never voted to fill the vacant seat, violating the Town Charter.
While the Charter allows for an expansion of the Mayor's duties beyond what is stated in the Charter, it needs to be done by ordinance. [Section 11 of the Charter: "The Mayor shall...have all other administrative duties provided for in this charter or provided for by ordinance of the Town Council."]
Your reporter has not been able to locate any ordinance expanding the duties of the Mayor.
The Charter also states that in the event of a vacancy on the Town Council, its remaining members "shall appoint a qualified citizen to fill the balance of the term of the vacancy…"
In law, the word shall = must.
Public bodies operate by motions and votes, not by daydreams and wishful thinking.
On February 17, during a Town Council meeting, a spurious process was used to illegally fill the vacated District 2 seat.
There were secret ballots, ballots purportedly leaving Town Hall with Mayor Thomas, ranking sheets not turned in by the appointed time, and an improperly filled-out scoring sheet by Mayor Thomas. A qualified clerk should have disqualified the Mayor's scoring sheet. None of the scoring sheets were made available to the Town Council during its February 17 meeting. None of the sealed scoring sheets were opened in public. The Town Clerk's Office was unable to provide its tally sheets.
On February 17, the Deputy Town Clerk called out the secret ballot tabulations from her office doorway.
There was plenty of confused discussion regarding the selection process. The purported District 2 choice was given the oath of office by Mayor Thomas, whose bogus score sheets scored every candidate a zero, except his chosen candidate, who received all tens. The score sheets clearly stated to score "1-10." The Mayor's scores were unknown to the Council members.
While Dennis Rivera was given the "oath," the Council never appointed, a.k.a, voted to fill the vacant District 2 seat, violating the Town Charter.
District 2 Candidate, Lonnie Harrell, Files Complaint With the Town
On February 20, 2025, two days after Dennis Rivera's non-appointment to fill the vacated District 2 seat on the Fort White Town Council, candidate Lonnie Harrell filed a complaint with the Town about everything he thought concerned the appointment process.
Lonnie Harrell (file)
Mr. Harrell challenged the legality of the appointment of the District 2 Town Council member. Mr. Harrell alleged that the appointment process violated the Town's Charter and procedural rules set by the Town Council. Mr. Harrell outlined several procedural violations, including the lack of a proper motion, second, and vote during the appointment, failure to adhere to the required timeline for appointing a new council member, and concerns about transparency and fairness in the selection process.
Additionally, Mr. Harrell accused Mayor Thomas of discriminatory practices during the scoring of applicants based on race, suggesting that the Mayor favored one applicant of Hispanic descent while scoring others (including Harrell) poorly.
The complaint argues that these actions contravene both state and federal laws regarding open meetings and civil rights. Mr. Harrell demands that the appointment be declared invalid and that a proper process be followed to select a new council member, mentioning his intent to pursue legal action if necessary.
Councilwoman Kathryn Terry and Councilman Bill Koon Call a Special Meeting
Councilman Bill Koon asks a question of Town Attorney
Lindsey Lander during the last Council meeting.
On Friday, February 21, around noon, Councilwoman Terry brought to Town Hall a request for a special meeting, which complied with the Town Charter: "The Mayor, or any two members of the town Council may call special meetings...upon reasonable notice."
The purpose of the meeting was stated clearly:
• 1. Review appointment of District 2 Council member for compliance with the Town Charter...
• 2. Review and establish an appointment process for vacant Town Council seats so that fair and legal appointments can be made to the Town Council.
While this seemed simple enough, Mayor Thomas, acting outside his authority, changed agenda item 1 to read: "Review Council Member appointments for compliance with the Town Charter..."
If Mayor Thomas, who is complicit in the compromised selection process, wanted to speak about all Council member appointments, he is and was free to add that to any other agenda at any other time; or he could have called a special meeting to examine all council member appointments.
He didn't. The Town Charter does not require Councilmembers Terry and Koon to get the Mayor's approval on the subject matter of the special meeting.
The District 2 seat has not been lawfully filled. To prevent irreparable harm to the Town, the two Council Members called a special meeting.
Friday, February 28
On Friday, February 28, at about 2 pm, your reporter called Town Hall and spoke with the gal, Brook, from the temp agency who is acting as the Town Clerk.
Your reporter explained that the purpose that was stated in the Council member's notice is the reason for the special meeting and cannot be changed.
She said it may have been a typo and she would check with the acting deputy clerk. Both the acting clerk and deputy clerk are from the same temp agency and have freely admitted they know nothing and have no experience in government.
Councilwoman Kathryn Terry makes a point during the last
Fort White Town Council meeting.
On Friday, February 28, at about 3:29 pm, Councilwoman Terry went to Town Hall to explain to the Clerk that the agenda was wrong and needed to be changed back to what the notice stated.
While she was there, in what seemed like a miracle, Mayor Thomas, according to the Councilwoman, swooped into town Hall and asked her what was wrong.
Councilwoman Terry told your reporter, "Somebody had to contact him."
The long story short, Mayor Thomas dug in, claiming he had the right to change the agenda for the special meeting called by the two Council members.
Epilogue
This evening at 6 pm, the Fort White Town Council meets for a special meeting.
The District 2 councilmember has not been appointed and should not be sitting with the other councilmembers. Taking an oath of office is not an appointment.
A vote confirms the District 2 Council appointment, and the Council has not voted.