The Apopka City Council, at its June 19th meeting, was unable to rescind a 2023 censure of Mayor Bryan Nelson. After considerable deliberations, the item was unable to gain a motion from a Council member and therefore died on the dais without a vote.
But before the motion died, Commissioner Alexander Smith recused himself from the vote because he did not attend the August 2023 meeting or vote in the initial censure, and Commissioner Nadia Anderson, who was not on Council in 2023, made a motion to table the issue until the next meeting, but the motion did not receive a Council member's second and it too died without a vote.
The censure passed by a 3-1 vote in August 2023, with Commissioner Kyle Becker, Nick Nesta, and Diane Velazquez voting in favor, while Nelson voted against.
According to the agenda packet for the meeting, an item titled "Rescinding the censure of Mayor Nelson" .
In the Staff Summary, it states:
"The Commission on Ethics sent a letter dated October 26, 2023, to Mayor Bryan Nelson that a complaint was filed by Kelley Butcher regarding the Mayor. Attached to the correspondence was a copy of Ms. Butcher’s complaint which also mentioned and included a copy of Mayor Nelson’s censure by City Council over statements he made about Attorney Rodriguez’s employment status.
The Commission on Ethics met on June 7, 2024, and adopted the Advocate’s Recommendation of “no probable cause” and dismissed the complaint filed against Mayor Nelson. Mayor Nelson is requesting that Resolution No. 2023-20 concerning his censure be rescinded considering the Commission on Ethics’ decision."
Before the rescinded censure vote, Council voted 3-2 in favor of reimbursing Nelson's attorney fees for his defense of an ethics complaint.
According to the summary in the agenda packet:
The Commission on Ethics sent a letter dated October 26, 2023, to Mayor Bryan Nelson that a complaint hadbeen filed against him by Kelley Butcher. The letter explained that the complaint would be preliminarily reviewed by the agency to determine whether the allegations were legally sufficient and whether any possible violations of law had been sufficiently alleged. Attached to the correspondence was a copy of Ms. Butcher’s complaint which listed accusations regarding the handling of Attorney Michael Rodriquez’s employment status and City’s use of resources for the Next Step Foundation. The complaint also included a reference to Mayor Nelson’s censure by City Council concerning Attorney Rodriguez’s employment status. The Commission on Ethics met on June 7, 2024, and adopted the advocate’s recommendation of “no probable cause” and dismissed the complaint filed against Mayor Nelson. Attorney Mark Herron from law firm Messer Caparello represented Mayor Nelson during the proceedings. The complaint was filed against Mayor Nelson acting in his official capacity and the complaint was dismissed. As such, Mayor Nelson is requesting the City reimburse his legal fees in the amount of $1,527.50.
Anderson, Nelson and Smith voted in favor of Nelson's reimbursement, while Nesta and Velazquez voted against.
This is a breaking and developing story and will be updated in a future edition of The Apopka Voice.
