The Sebastian City Council has a new leader after three members voted Mayor Richard Gillmor out of his seat and replaced him with Bob McPartlan during last week’s Council meeting.
Now, the former Mayor has decided to pursue a seat on the County Commission.
Gillmor filed for County Commission District 1, which is currently held by Commissioner Wesley Davis and already has two candidates vying to fill what will become an empty seat.
Davis is running for Property Appraiser.
Those running for Davis’s seat include former Fellsmere Mayor Susan Adams and current Sebastian Councilman Jim Hill, who raised the issue of Gillmor’s leadership on the Sebastian dais.
Gillmor started the meeting by submitting his letter of resignation, saying that it became clear that his leadership was not supported. He then congratulated Vice Mayor Jerome Adams for taking the post and the men swapped seats.
However, the move was not without debate. Council members questioned the acceptance of Gillmor’s resignation and ultimately decided they would not accept it.
Councilwoman Andrea Coy said she couldn’t accept the resignation given the timing, explaining Gillmor had the last two weeks to resign but waited until the meeting to do so.
Hill suggested the Council rescind its vote from November 2015 that had installed Gillmor as Mayor.
He, Coy and McPartlan voted to rescind the original vote and open again the organizational structure of the Council.
Gillmor did not speak much on the issue during the meeting but raised a concern that any time three Council members are unhappy with the Mayor’s leadership, a vote could be made to replace him or her.
“We could have a Mayor-of-the-Month,” Gillmor said.
Special Magistrate Kelley Armitage, who is filling in for City Attorney Bob Ginsburg, opined that the city charter does not address the length of time a Mayor shall serve, presumably because the Council decides who the Mayor is.
“Whatever the Council giveth,” he said, “the Council can taketh away.”
Hill told the Council and the audience that it was not his intent to embarrass or shame anyone on the dais by seeking a reorganization. He said his concern has been the direction in which the Council seemed to be headed – a direction that resembled the Councils of 2007 and 2008, a period of time when the Council members were not civil with each other.
“I don’t want to see that happen,” Hill said.
Ultimately, the Council voted 3-2 to have McPartlan serve as Mayor. Adams, who had been Vice Mayor, will continue to serve in that capacity.
