|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
When Leadership Fails, Taxpayers Pay the Price. By Mark Merwitzer, Vice Mayor of Palmetto Bay
Imagine if our Village took more than $55,000 of taxpayer money and simply set it on fire. In effect, that is what just happened in Palmetto Bay. For the past nine months, our community has footed the bill for a legal battle that never should have existed. In April, Councilman Steve Cody filed a lawsuit seeking to unseat me as Vice Mayor and invalidate my oath of office. This week, a judge tossed the case, rejecting his claims outright.
In her ruling, Judge Jacqueline Woodward didn’t mince words and called Cody’s case a “wholly fabricated controversy” that exists “only in Plaintiff’s own mind.” She found that Cody “invents requirements for the constitutional Oath of Office that do not exist” and pursued claims entirely “unsupported by law or fact.”
The lawsuit was filed under the guise of procedural concern, but public records and reporting by WLRN reveal a clear timeline.
In January 2025, I led the Village Council in terminating a controversial lobbying contract with Jorge Luis Lopez that was costing taxpayers up to $45,000 per month. Lopez had donated to Cody’s campaign and, according to public records, continued advising Cody on how to challenge my oath even after losing his contract. Just months later, Cody filed his lawsuit.
This year, our village budget reduced park security patrols, scaled back tree maintenance, and cut police overtime. These were difficult choices forced by budget constraints. Yet while making those cuts, we are now on the hook for at least $55,000 defending against what the court has ruled was “unsupported by law or fact.” Every dollar spent on this manufactured controversy was a dollar taken from services our families depend on.
Cody did not act alone. Less than a month before he filed suit, Mayor Karyn Cunningham stated on the record: “Residents are still asking today, which is March 18th, is the Vice Mayor sworn improperly? I don’t respond back because I don’t have that answer.”
She had that answer. Her own Village Attorney had provided it. An independent legal expert had verified there was no question that I was sworn in.
That same day, Mayor Cunningham joined Cody as the only vote to cast doubt on whether I had been properly sworn in. The resolution failed 2-3, but the damage was done. By casting doubt on what her own legal experts had verified, she lent institutional credibility to a lawsuit the court later ruled baseless.
When elected leaders refuse to defend established facts and instead enable what the court has called a manufactured controversy, the entire community pays. Services get cut. Legal bills mount. Resources drain away defending against claims the court ruled “wholly fabricated.”
This raises fundamental questions about our village. Will we tolerate elected officials weaponizing the courts to punish votes they lost? Will we accept leadership that validates manufactured controversies while essential services suffer? Will we allow political vendettas to drain resources needed for parks, streets, and public safety?
Leadership requires the courage to defend sound decisions when they are under attack. It requires standing up for democratic outcomes even when politically inconvenient. It requires putting public interest ahead of political comfort. By those measures, our Village leadership failed, and residents are paying the price.
Moving forward requires accountability. Residents deserve answers about why established facts were ignored, why institutional credibility was lent to manufactured claims, and why tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars were drained while essential services were cut.
The residents of Palmetto Bay are watching.
They deserve leaders who put their interests first. Always.
In 2026, when candidates ask for your vote, ask whether they’ll defend your interests or enable waste like this.
Mark Merwitzer is the Vice Mayor of Palmetto Bay. He can be reached at 786-309-6743 or mmerwitzer@palmettobay-fl.gov.
