The Milton City Council in a 5-2 vote during its Jan. 2 executive meeting decided to remove Mayor Heather Lindsay as its designated representative to the Northwest Florida Legislative Delegation, citing “unprofessional” behavior.
Councilman Jeff Snow made the motion to remove Lindsay and replace her with Councilman Casey Powell. Councilman Matt Jarrett seconded Snow’s motion, which was supported by Council members Gavin Hawthorne, Roxanne Meiss and Casey Powell. Council members Mike Cusack and Marilyn Farrow opposed the motion, Councilwoman Shari Sebastiao was out of town, and the mayor can only vote in the event of a tie. The action is expected to be finalized during the Council’s Jan. 9 meeting.
Snow said he made the motion after seeing correspondence between the Mayor and new City Manager, Scott Collins, who stated the will not renew his 24-month contract, following an exchange of emails with her over the holiday weekend. Discussion revealed Lindsay became upset that Collins had scheduled a Jan. 2 roundtable with state legislators without her prior knowledge.
“This is not professional,” Snow said of Lindsay’s emails with Collins.
Lindsay told the Council she apologized to Collins and suggested others “interpreted” her negatively. “I didn’t even find out about this meeting until I found out from someone else,” she said.
City Attorney Alex Andrade, who serves as a State Representative for District 2, which does not include Milton, said he informed the Mayor about the roundtable. However, Lindsay admitted she had blocked Andrade from contacting her via cell phone.
“I’m not comfortable taking your calls,” Lindsay said, accusing him of being “disrespectful” toward her.
Snow said Lindsay’s personal issues with Andrade and blocking his number are another reason he decided to make the motion to remove her as the City’s representative to the local state delegation.
“It seems like the mayor is the common denominator of all the issues that we have,” stated Councilman Gavin Hawthorne.
