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Council fails to unanimously appoint recommended candidate, later appoints Brandon Dix amid objections
Summary
A proposed appointment of Steven Nicholl to the Planning & DDA commission failed to gain the unanimous vote required by the charter; the council subsequently appointed Brandon Dix after debate and objections that referenced a past alleged incident and a police report.
The Gibraltar City Council debated two candidates to fill a vacancy on the Planning & DDA commission and voted on separate motions after a legal review of charter nepotism rules.
Mayor (speaker 1) recommended Steven Nicholl and noted support from several commission members. Several council members raised procedural questions about the charter’s anti-nepotism provision. City Attorney (speaker 15) read the relevant charter language and advised that the appointment of a relative of an existing commission member requires a unanimous council vote recorded in the official proceedings.
The initial motion to appoint Nicholl did not obtain the required unanimous vote and therefore failed. Council then moved to appoint Brandon Dix; during discussion one council member (speaker 10) said Dix had previously been accused of making “explicit abusive comments to one of their female staff” and mentioned a police incident report. Other council members pushed back at the tone of that exchange and called for focus on qualifications and due process. After roll call, the motion to appoint Brandon Dix carried.
Mayor stated the council remains without a seat until appointments are finalized and asked staff to follow charter procedures going forward. The council recorded the votes and left final appointment and any charter waiver discussion to follow-up as needed.
The council’s discussion highlighted the charter requirement for unanimity in certain appointments and the tension between committee recommendations, personal objections and the council’s responsibility to fill vacancies.
Next steps: the council will process the new appointment and the clerk will record the official proceedings per the charter’s requirements.
