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Speakers urge Fernandina Beach commission to consider removing advisory‑board chair over alleged harassment
Summary
Multiple residents told the commission the appointee to a local advisory board repeatedly harassed women in Old Town, calling for removal or at‑least a formal vote; the city attorney outlined the removal process and said the commission may act at a future meeting.
Several residents told the Fernandina Beach City Commission on March 4 that a recently appointed advisory‑board chair repeatedly harassed women in Old Town, and they urged the panel to remove him.
Ron Borden, who identified himself as living at 1122 San Fernando Street, described two incidents in which he said the appointee rode by on a bicycle, shouted profanities and made offensive gestures at women on their porches. “He ran a rat shot over us in a historic town, and nobody liked him,” Borden said, describing an apology he called insufficient.
Mike Sharp of North 9th Street echoed calls for action and urged the commission to take a formal vote on removal. “You cannot put someone in a position of authority who holds at least half of our population in complete disdain and contempt,” Sharp said, calling the behavior hate speech and saying victims do not consider the matter “water under the bridge.”
City Attorney Pro Tem Harrison W. Poole told commissioners that appointed board members “serve at the pleasure of the city commission” under the land‑development code and that the commission may remove a member by majority vote. He recommended scheduling any removal discussion with appropriate notice to allow for public comment and to follow procedural rules.
Commissioners debated next steps but did not hold a vote at the meeting. Vice Mayor and other commissioners said it may be appropriate to place the item under board appointments on a future agenda so the appointee could respond or resign. The mayor and other members also noted the value of following the city’s removal procedures and allowing public input.
The commission did not take immediate formal action on removal at the March 4 meeting; commissioners directed staff and the clerk to provide rules for dismissal and to consider the matter for the March 18 agenda if warranted.
