Ft White, FL: Joe Helfenberger, A Qualified City Clerk Resigns, a Little Town With Big Problems
July 2, 2026 7:55 am | 4 min read
Mayor George Thomas has refused to attend the last two
Town Counicil meetings. Elected without any experience
in local government, he has lead the Town into chaos.
FORT WHITE, FL – Sometime on June 26, Fort White Town Manager Joe Helfenberger resigned, resulting in the continuance of the chaos and dysfunction of Fort White, since the election of George Thomas as its mayor in November 2024.
Looking back at the history of the Town since Mr. Thomas took his oath of office, one finds not a pretty picture, with the resignation of Mr. Helfenberger seeming inevitable.
Resignation, dysfunction, and controversy have been the hallmark of Mayor Thomas’s reign since taking office.
The first to go was Town Clerk Connie Brecheen, a person of great instructional knowledge. Then the assistant clerk quit.
Another Clerk was hired, and she quit. Then, another Clerk was hired; she quit, leaving the assistant Clerk or office manager, Kelly MacPherson, behind to run the day-to-day operations of the Town, which she did in concert with Mayor Thomas, who, according to the Town Charter, did not have that authority to run anything, not even the Town Council meetings, unless approved by the Council.
More chaos: since the Thomas reign began a little over a year and a half ago, the Town is on its fourth attorney.
Applications for Town Clerk were being taken by Ms. MacPherson. There were no qualified candidates.
Finally, in March of this year, Town Councilman Lonnie Harrell reached out to former Lake City City Manager Joe Helfenberger to see whether he would be interested in a part-time position managing the Town.
Mr. Helfenberger submitted an application that the Mayor sabotaged by adding information to it and his resume.
Mr. Helfenberger withdrew his application and then reconsidered. His contract was approved by the Town Council on March 16, 2026, and became effective one week later.
In spite of the Town Charter requiring the Mayor to “… execute all instruments to which the town is a party,” Mr. Thomas refused to execute Mr. Helfenberger’s contract.
Council meetings became so chaotic under the Mayor that the Council voted to have the Vice Mayor preside over the meetings during another chaotic meeting in which the Mayor walked out, and the attorney quit.
Town Clerk/Manager Joe Helfenberger began with the best of intentions, but…
Joe Helfenberger during the last Town Council meeting.
With decades of experience in local government, Mr. Helfenberger had the tools to begin righting the listing Town.
Unfortunately, he was undercut from the beginning by the Thomas-MacPherson team and by conditions he said were abhorrent when he arrived: records not filed, signatures not attested by acting Clerk MacPherson, minutes months and months behind, and general office disarray.
Mayor Thomas also had a cadre of Facebook keyboard warriors who appeared to be led by Alex Veiga (now a candidate for Town Council, whose residency folks are questioning), and his partner at the Collective Food Yard & Garden.
Mr. Helfenberger also had to deal with the recall chatter of Councilman Harrell and that disruption.
Without any authority, the Mayor tried to keep his hands in the day-to-day business of the Town, while refusing to attend the last two Town Council meetings.
Finally, on Thursday, June 25, there was some sort of altercation between Manager Helfenberger and Mayor Thomas. The result: Mr. Helfenberger resigned the next day.
In conversations he had with others, it appeared that he said that if he were younger, he would ‘duke it out’ with the Mayor.
Mr. Helfenberger resigns: what happened?
Your reporter reached out to Mr. Helfenberger. He didn’t reach back. Mr. Helfenberger was asked to forward the email which he sent to the Council, announcing his resignation. Instead, after repeated attempts, he forwarded only his letter of resignation. Mr. Helfenberger’s letter of resignation is here.
By Monday (June 29), it was all over Town that Mr. Helfenberger had resigned.
Your reporter spoke with folks who had spoken with Mr. Helfenberger about the incident. They agreed to give their accounts under the condition of anonymity to discuss matters of a sensitive nature.
It was clear from the discussions that Mr. Helfenberger was afraid of Mayor Thomas. One official said Mr. Helfenberger was clear, “If the mayor comes into town hall today, I'm gonna have to leave and go run an errand or something. He said, ‘I don't wanna have any contact with him;’ he is afraid.”
Another official said that Joe [Helfenberger] is a calm, minister-like figure but was visibly frightened, stating his primary concern was for his and his family's safety, adding, “But really, it's to the point now somebody's gonna get hurt. That's my concern.” “He was shook up; he kept saying, ‘This mayor's gotta go, this mayor's gotta go.’”
Former Town Councilman and lifelong Fort White resident James Richardson was the only present or former Fort White official that would speak on the record.
Mr. Richardson is also a candidate in the upcoming Fort White election.
Mr. Richardson said he recently visited Town Hall to express his unwavering support. “I called him, and I told him I wanted him to know I supported him. I pointed out how close I am to his office, and I could come running over there to help him if he ever needed help.”
Mr. Richardson said he begged Joe not to quit and was so affected by the situation that he "almost cried."
The Next Step
Town Councilmen Harrell and Koon called for a special meeting on Tuesday, July 7, at 6 pm in Town Hall.
The purpose of the meeting is:
• to discuss the resignation of
Mr. Helfenberger and a plan of action for hiring a
replacement;
• to give Mr. Helfenberger final directions prior to his
departure;
• to discuss a Town staffing plan.
Will someone ask Mr. Helfenberger what happened between him and Mayor Thomas that instigated his resignation the next day?
Will Mayor Thomas begin acting like a Mayor, show up for meetings, and ask Mr. Helfenberger to reconsider if he promises to stay out of his face?
Will the other Council members ask Mr. Helfenberger to stay and rein in the Mayor?
These questions may be answered on Tuesday evening.