Concerns about “corruptive behavior” in a small town’s government in Florida caused health scares for a mayor who unexpectedly resigned.
Former Mayor Jim Rostek sent a blistering letter to the residents of Madeira Beach letting them know he was resigning amid unease with leadership.
“What is going on with this small town is all wrong,” an emotional Rostek told Fox 13 on Wednesday. “I am sorry that I have to walk away. It is for my health. Please keep up the fight. I will always try to have your back. Please continue to do what’s right.”
The former firefighter told the outlet that the stress he had to deal with as mayor led to a series of health issues and that his efforts to deal with ethics and legal issues fell on deaf ears in the city on the west coast of Florida.
“The city manager refused to implement any policy. He said he would talk to them and I told him, ‘Talk is cheap.’ I said, ‘You need to have policy to back up what you’ve told them because when it comes time for a lawsuit, we’re not going to have any ammunition to substantiate,’” he said. “If you don’t get the small things right, what about the big things?”
(Video Credit: Fox13)
“God only knows what else is going on. You don’t know what you don’t know until you start looking and digging deeper,” Rostek added.
In his June 14 letter to residents in the Pinellas County town, Rostek called out City Manager Robin Ignacio Gomez and his “discretionary” and “discriminatory” code enforcement
“I am sorry to leave. But with a city manager as such, I cannot be or have any part of Gomez’s corrupt behavior, talking in circles, lies, preferential treatment of ‘some,’ or discriminatory enforcement practices. As well as the everyday wasting of the tax-payers’ money and trying to justify it,” he wrote, according to Fox News. “In the end, some will go up to the pearly gates and some won’t. I will always do what is ethical and correct, others not so much.”
“I had a resident take pictures of the code enforcement boat, with people riding around on it doing their job, I guess, no life jackets on,” Rostek added. “The smoking policy … I see one or two of them smoking in city vehicles. There’s federal law about that stuff. He refuses to implement policy.”
“We’re supposed to set an example for the public,” he said, calling the current atmosphere out as “Camp Run Amok.”
City Manager Robin Gomez provided Fox 13 with a statement in response to the former mayor’s claims.
“While entitled to his opinions, the city has provided answers and resolutions to the comments although not completely supported/agreed/understood by Mr. Rostek,” Gomez noted. “It is unfortunate that the disagreements and misunderstandings of city processes and policies by Mr. Rostek led him to state/list claims of corruption, which are simply baseless and false.”
“We continue to perform our daily tasks and responsibilities pursuant to federal, state, county, and city laws/ordinances/statutes in the most ethical manner,” said Gomez.
Anne-Marie Brooks, previously serving as a city commissioner, has reportedly stepped in to fill the vacant mayor seat. Rostek, meanwhile, is hoping things don’t get buried under the rug.
“My hope out of all of this is someone at the state level makes contact with me, and I will show them what they have,” he said.
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Author: Frieda Powers
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