Pompano commission rejects censure of Commissioner Audrey Fesick after heated debate and public comment

The Pompano Beach City Commission on Oct. 14 considered a formal resolution that would have publicly reprimanded Commissioner Audrey Fesick for social-media posts the mayor and other commissioners said singled out and disparaged city employees. After nearly three hours of discussion, public testimony and attorney statements, the motion to adopt the censure failed on a 3–3 recorded vote.

Why it mattered Mayor Rex Harden said the resolution was intended to protect city employees who reported feeling threatened and targeted after being named in social-media posts and videos. Harden framed censure as a formal, non-punitive statement of the commission’s disapproval of conduct it deemed inconsistent with the charter instruction that “members of the city commission shall deal with city employees solely through the city manager.” He told the dais: “Our employees…they've got nowhere to go…they were being singled out in posts on social media concerning supposed corruption.” (Transcript: 11640–11655)

What commissioners and public said - Mayor Rex Harden opened the discussion and presented the censure resolution, citing public records and social-media posts that named employees. Harden described staff concerns about safety and reputational harm and said staff and human resources had limited options to remedy the situation. (Transcript: 11343–11639) - Commissioner Audrey Fesick, who was the subject of the resolution, and her counsel argued the posts were protected private speech and that the resolution…