SEBASTIAN — Sebastian’s famous July 4th fireworks went off a little early this year, when what began as a typical City Council meeting June 22 exploded, in the final few moments, into a fiery war of words between council member Andrea Coy and recently ousted mayor Richard Gillmor.
The pyrotechnics ignited when Coy confronted now-council member Gillmor about comments he made on a radio talk show, criticizing the city and the coup that unseated him Feb. 24, and ended as Gillmor strode out, asserting he was “not taking any more of this crap!”
Gillmor was removed as mayor after it was alleged he overstepped his role as a City Council member by giving orders to city staff, which is prohibited by the city charter. With Gillmor and Vice-Mayor Jerome Adams opposing the motion, Coy and fellow council members Bob McPartlan and Jim Hill voted to unseat Gillmor, rather than accept his resignation, which would have resulted in Gillmor’s ally Adams automatically taking the mayor’s seat. The council majority then chose McPartlan as mayor.
Only Coy, Gillmor and McPartlan were on the dais for the June 22 meeting. McPartlan sat quietly between the two combatants, letting the verbal barbs fly.
Coy started the exchange by announcing she wanted to “clear the air.”
She challenged Gillmor to explain comments he made on air on Bob Soos’ WTTB 1490 AM talk show lambasting the city the day after his ouster, asking why he had said “Shame on Sebastian,” and insisted he had done nothing wrong. She reminded him that, during that same radio interview, he had apparently admitted to telling staff to carry out certain tasks.
“I made some comments,” Gillmor replied. “I think there are some issues here. I’m concerned about the city, I really am, because, when we allow this to go on, to have three council members decide to change horses in midstream without charges, it makes the city look small . . . I will continue to say I did nothing wrong, I never directed staff – so there!”
Coy waved some papers and said she had talked with five staff members who said Gillmor had directed them or that they heard him direct other staff members. “Three of them have written letters that are on file . . . I have talked to these staff members and I look you dead in the eye and tell you, that you were not let go on a whim. I am going to look you in the eye and tell you why I voted you out: You overstepped your bounds time and time again.”
The letters Coy brandished had not previously been public. Two employees expressed concern that their jobs could be in jeopardy. They were subsequently assured that, according to the city charter, no council member has the power to fire an employee.
Coy turned to City Manager Joe Griffin. “Mr. Griffin, has anyone complained to you about being directed [by Gillmor]?” she queried.
“Yes,” he replied.
Gillmor continued to assert that he had never directed staff, and noted an instance where he had “shared an idea” with City Engineer Frank Watanabe. “Mr. Griffin (City Manager Joe Griffin) told me I was directing staff,” said Gillmor. “I said, ‘No, no. I did not say do this for me.’”
Asked later whether Gillmor was aware of the complaints against him prior to his ouster, Griffin said he was. “I said, ‘You have to back off, and stop being so involved.’”
How had Gillmor responded? Griffin replied, “He got excited, and that was that.”
“People have a right to know that me and Bob McPartlan and Jim Hill did not just randomly decide [to remove Gillmor],” Coy said. “A lot of events, behavior and actions led up to this.”
