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Longwood commissioners withdraw MLK award nomination for Andre Klass after debate
Summary
After discussion about timing and the number of awards, the Longwood City Commission voted to withdraw Andre Klass’s nomination for the Martin Luther King Jr. Good Citizenship Award and postponed any future consideration; commissioners split on whether the city should limit the number of awards but the motion to withdraw carried.
The Longwood City Commission voted on Dec. 15, 2025, to withdraw a previously submitted nomination of Andre Klass for the Martin Luther King Jr. Good Citizenship Award, prompting a prolonged discussion among commissioners about award frequency and appropriateness.
Commissioner Boney introduced the motion to reconsider and withdraw Klass’s nomination, saying, “It's just not a good time to give him a citizenship award right now,” and adding that community sentiment and recent events made the timing inappropriate. Other commissioners voiced differing views: some said the awards should remain inclusive of many local contributors, while others said the honor should remain selective.
Commissioner McMillan and Deputy Mayor Shoemaker said they were amenable to reducing the number of awards in future years; Commissioner Morgan strongly defended broad recognition of community contributors. Following discussion, the clerk called the roll and the commission recorded the motion to withdraw the nomination as carried; the clerk announced the nominee would be removed from the January presentation slate.
The commission had originally moved forward a slate of nominees for the Jan. 19, 2026 presentation that included Sean Esler, Mayor Brian Sackett and Tammy Uliano. Commissioners said the remaining nominations will proceed to the January ceremony.
The debate touched on the symbolic value of the award and whether the city should set limits on the number of recognitions per year; no formal policy change on award counts was made at this meeting.
