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Residents urge ethics probes and impeachment, allege grant self-dealing by Kissimmee mayor
Summary
Two public commenters told the City Commission they had filed ethics complaints alleging improper use of the mayor's office and grant applications; speakers named documents, an October 27 notarization and a business email tied to the mayor, and called on commissioners to act. No formal commission action was taken at the meeting.
During the public-comment portion of the Kissimmee City Commission meeting, two speakers lodged formal ethics allegations and urged the commission to act.
Lillian Evans told the commission she had filed an ethics complaint and accused the mayor and her allies of "ongoing abuse of power," social-media harassment, and permit violations tied to a building at 120 Broadway. Evans urged commissioners to oppose extending term limits and said the matter undermines public trust. "When meetings turn into personal arguments ... public trust breaks down," Evans said.
Later in the meeting, Claudia Zuko presented documents she said show the mayor and her husband appeared before the same notary on Oct. 27, 2025, and that the mayor signed applications as the "primary contact," providing a personal cell number and a business email (transcript: info@jackieespinosa.com). Zuko said she has filed a complaint with the Florida Ethics Commission and that, according to her, a state review (referred to in the transcript as the Florida Department on Government Efficiency, "DOGE") is seeking city records related to grant programs. "This wasn't a mistake. It was a digital and notarized road map of self dealing," Zuko said, and called for impeachment proceedings.
The speakers' allegations were presented as claims to the commission and a matter for state ethics and administrative review. The commission did not take formal action at the meeting on the allegations. No city official, in the record of the meeting, offered documentary rebuttal on the floor; the city attorney did offer to schedule training on ethics and Sunshine Law, and the mayor closed the meeting with general remarks about staff work and encouraging grant applications.
Other public commenters raised neighborhood and landlord-tenant complaints during the same hearing; one commenter, Jordan Rivera, said he has experienced alleged harassment and named Lillian Evans in his remarks.
Because the matters involve formal ethics complaints and asserted state review, they are recorded here as unresolved allegations pending external or commission-led investigation. Journalistic standards require labeling these as allegations: this article does not treat the charges as proved.
