Mayor bars Sharon McCain from meetings at City Hall

By Kimberly Porter….
By a formal letter, Mayor Philip Stoddard has barred Ms. Sharon McCain from attending City Commission and other advertised city meetings, as well as her presence on City Hall grounds during their conduct.

Citing authority as presiding officer of the City Commission, under the Code of Ordinances, Chapter 2, Article 2, Section 2- 2.1 (“Rule of procedure of city commission), Mayor Stoddard said the ban of Ms. McCain would continue until authorization by a majority vote of the Commission decided otherwise.

Ms. McClain declined comment when contacted by the news March 10 after distribution of the letter to other city officials and the press on March 9.

City Attorney Laurence Feingold said barring someone from a single session was not unusual but that in his experience, “a citizen being barred from all future meetings like this is unprecedented.

Adding he “fully supports” the Mayor’s decision, Atty. Feingold characterized Ms. McCain’s actions as “vicious,” commenting that “she has libeled and slandered me.”

The Stoddard letter requested City Manager Hector Mirabile not allow Ms. McCain inside the City Hall property beginning 30 minutes before a scheduled and publicly- noticed meeting until 30 minutes after its conclusion, applying that ban to any other city property where a meeting may be held.

“I greatly regret the need for these actions, but your continued antisocial behavior has left me no other recourse to protect the rights of others to engage in jobs, elected duty, and public discourse free from insult, slander and downright harassment,” the Stoddard letter stated.

The letter said Ms. McCain “ habitually disrupts” meetings by waving, holding up signs, opening and closing newspapers and relocating herself and her belongings to put herself in the line of sight of whoever is speaking. The letter also said Ms. McCain accosts meeting-goers with”personal and offensive remarks” in hallways and on outside walkways and parking lots. “Numerous staff, elected officials and members of the public seek to exit the building by whatever egress will allow them to avoid encountering you,” the letter stated.

During a March 7 meeting, McCain allegedly made personal remarks from a seat in the Commission chambers, and when protesting after being asked to leave, she continued to make wild hand gestures through a door window, according to meeting observers. After the meeting, Stoddard said Ms. McCain’s behavior was “belligerent and demeaning” to people inside the chamber and in the hallways.

“I have asked you to be quiet or leave commission meetings and workshops so many times in the past year that I have lost count,” Stoddard’s letter stated.

The letter informs Ms. McCain that her rights and abilities as a citizen to participate in the city’s government and observe the operation of city meetings remains assured in ways other than attending in person, noting City Commission meetings and quasi-judicial boards can be watched by television or the Internet.

“If and when you have questions or observations that you feel are important to share, you may convey them in written form to the commission or board beforehand via the city clerk,” the letter advised.


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11 COMMENTS

  1. Cock a doodle two..Who is leading the commission?. One is by name and the other is by action.Newman , the New women mayor is leading us down the path of embarrassment and shame. When are the voters going to bounce her back to where she came.

  2. Cock a doodle two..Who is leading the commission?. One is by name and the other is by action.Newman , the New women mayor is leading us down the path of embarrasment and shame. When are the voters going to bounce her back to where she came.

  3. Am confused: do not see any mention of Robert's Rules of Order. As anyone who conducts public meetings knows, Robert's Rules….well, rules….and gives the chair the right to eject anyone who disrupts the procedings. If you can't behave, do not expect the courtesy of the chair allowing you to act the fool.

  4. Well, as we now know, Mayor Stoddard apologized to Ms. McCain and Vice Mayor Newman acted as defender of the Constitution. As correctly noted in the above posts, the content of Ms. McCain's verbal contributions are not what totally bothers the mayor. It most likely is the jumping up and down, paper rattling when others are speaking, hand and arm waving, and phone calls during meetings. In fact nothing in the mayor's letter is hyperbole. I don't agree that she should be banned, but there should be more structure to the meetings–perhaps something that wouldn't allow five minutes of rant on any subject one chooses. This may be a more workable solution for all.

  5. The mayor will chicken out …………..Like it or not Newman is the real Mayor…………Nobody told stodard yet

  6. Paul,
    You are right, this city has struggled with constant disruptions at commission meetings for years.
    The cultural of this city promotes this out of control civic activism and until some commission puts their collective feet down it will surely continue.

    But I have no reason to think it will get better ,as the city can't even stop people from bringing food and beverages into the commission meeting.

    Michael Miller
    Community Newspapers

  7. Did she really get tossed because of the content of her messages or was the way she delivers them. I understand that sometimes the messenger gets shot , but in this case if she acting within some generally accepted guidelines she could really get more people on her side.

    Can't wait to see what happens at tonights commission meetting.

    Michael Miller
    Community Newspapers

  8. Good point about her constant opposing views not being in the article.We will do a better job the next time.

    As you know,she is very passionate and has helped put people into office and then out of office. I just wonder who she is going to help get out this time around.?

    Maybe this mayor has what it takes to let her stay in the chambers, yet get her to act in a reasonable fashion… If I was a better man, …

    Michael Miller
    Community Newspapers

  9. Mayor Stoddard is perhps the 3rd Mayor to not be able to conduct meetings because of Mc Cain's attention getting antics. But last time , it was all too easy to blame Mayor Feliu whom the homeowners opposed. But now the homeowners and Sharon McCain elcted Mayor Stoddard who immediately appointed her to a Board. Now the MAYOR she elected concurs she is out of control. South Miami can't let her go on and on and remove the pleasant from our city of pleasant living. Let her get a life and let the City function without this circus act of hers.

  10. I don't see anywhere in the article where it stated her disenting point of view as reason for being banned. Ms. McCain is a constant disruption who has been asked many, many times to be respectful of the meeting being held around her.

  11. So now the elected officials of South Miami believe anyone with a disenting point of view should be banned from the meetings. Ms McCain evidently exposed some of the dirt and corruption going on in City Hall.

Comments are closed.