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Pembroke Park commission appoints new mayor, vice mayor and clerks amid debate over charter rotation
Summary
Following a contested discussion about a charter amendment on rotating the mayoralty, the commission appointed Commissioner Jeff Jacobs as mayor and approved other officer appointments; the commission also sought an Attorney General opinion and legal guidance about implementing rotation rules.
The Town Commission on May 20 voted to appoint Commissioner Jeff Jacobs as mayor and made related officer appointments after an extended discussion about a charter amendment that calls for rotating leadership positions.
Commissioner Jeff Jacobs was nominated and confirmed by roll call. The commission also voted to appoint Commissioner Musweka (Muskeka) Kashem as vice mayor (subject to her acceptance), Bill Hodgkins as clerk commissioner and Commissioner Eric Morissette as acting clerk commissioner. The appointments were finalized by an amended resolution read into the record and adopted by roll call vote.
The commission spent substantial time discussing how to interpret and implement a recent charter amendment that, according to some commissioners, requires rotation of the mayor’s office. Mayor Mohammed said he sought an opinion from the Florida Attorney General’s office; the mayor provided the materials he had sent to the AG to the commission.
Town counsel told the commission that local charter interpretation is a matter for the commission and explained options for implementing a rotation. Counsel said the Attorney General typically does not opine on municipal charter questions requested by an individual commissioner and that the commission could adopt an ordinance to implement a rotation by seat number or another mechanism.
Counsel also noted a practical constraint: Pembroke Park’s commission seats are not staggered, meaning the entire commission stands for election at the same time; that structure limits how many different commissioners can serve as mayor during a four-year cycle because only two mayoral cycles fall within most terms. Commissioners discussed rotation by district number to avoid singling out individuals and agreed to bring the matter back for a fuller discussion at the August meeting when a full commission quorum is expected.
The commission adopted an amended resolution appointing the named officers and instructed staff to prepare the formal resolution language. The record shows the commission debated whether to table the matter to August but proceeded with officer appointments during the May 20 special meeting.
