In July, Delray Beach City Commissioner Rob Long lost his defamation suit against Planning and Zoning Board Chairman Chris Davey.
But that isn’t the big story.
Long filed the lawsuit in February, one month before the election in which he defeated incumbent Juli Casale. Long accused Davey—an ally of Casale and Mayor Shelly Petrolia— of making “false and defamatory social media posts.” Among other things, Davey accused Long of “mortgage fraud.”
Long served with Davey on the planning and zoning board. It isn’t news that Davey opposed Long’s candidacy. Petrolia openly backed Casale and former Commissioner Angeleta Gray, who lost to Angela Burns.
Until now, though, we didn’t know that Davey tried to keep Long from running at all by threatening him.
As part of the lawsuit, Long’s attorney deposed Davey in June. During that deposition, Davey acknowledged that in January he asked former County Commissioner Mary McCarty to call land-use lawyer Bonnie Miskel. McCarty was to tell Miskel that if Long did not drop out of the race by Jan. 17, in the attorney’s words, “Mr. Long and Ms. Miskel’s reputation would be comprosmised.”
Davey testified, “I asked a mutual friend of mine and Ms. Miskel [McCarty] to speak to [Miskel] and say, ‘Look, I got this email, I don’t know what the business relationship is, this looks very bad, looks unethical, and it’s going to come out. That’s all, It’s going to come out.”
The “business relationship” was that Long’s marketing company had done work for some of Miskel’s clients after getting references from Miskel. None of the clients had projects in Delray Beach.
Obviously, Long didn’t drop out. Roughly two weeks later, the South Florida Sun Sentinel published an editorial titled “The long, hidden reach of developers in Delray Beach.” The editorial criticized Long for voting—as a planning and zoning board member—on projects that Miskel represented.
Long, though, had sought guidance on whether he could vote. A member of the city’s legal department said he could. Long also disclosed the relationship during meetings. Still, critical commentary in the Sun Sentinel continued until and after the election. The paper endorsed Casale.
On Wednesday, Miskel told me that she found the call from McCarty “bizarre. Why would anyone think I had any leverage over Rob Long?”
Miskel also said that McCarty—a Delray Beach resident who went to federal prison on corruption charges—relayed from Davey a threat to file a Florida Bar complaint against her because of the work she referred to Long.
“My response,” Miskel said, “was, ‘Have fun.’ I didn’t do anything illegal. Rob Long didn’t do anything illegal.” No Bar complaint followed.
But Davey did file a complaint about Long with the Florida Commission on Ethics. It was dismissed. A second complaint goes before the commission at its meeting next week. In response to the deposition, Long this week filed his own ethics complaint against Davey.
At another point in the deposition, Long’s attorney asks, “Did you provide Ms. McCarty any script or instructions as to what should be said? Davey responds, “I gave Ms. McCarty a copy of the email…told her if she (sic) stays in the race it’s natural consequences. You know what the papers are going to think of this. But that’s it.”
In an email, Long said, “This matter is far from over.” He added, “I don’t capitulate to bullies or intimidation tactics.”
I asked Davey for comment on the deposition. I did not receive a response to my voicemail by deadline for this post.
Questions could arise from this revelation. Should Davey continue to serve on the planning and zoning board, especially as chairman? Provisions allow for the removal of members.
Coincidentally, Petrolia and Casale tried unsuccessfully to remove Long for comments he made about the quality of Delray Beach’s water. City Attorney Lynn Gelin warned that the grounds for removing Long were shaky, after which the commission approved an ordinance for such cases.
Then there’s the question of whether Petrolia knew in advance about the communication between Davey and McCarty. The mayor involved herself deeply in trying to reelect Casale, whom she recruited to run for the seat in 2020.
And for those who believe that Petrolia and her allies will stop at nothing, Davey’s disclosure will confirm their fears.
More on Long’s Lawsuit
Back to the Long’s lawsuit:
In a text message, Davey said, “It was resolved as I anticipated. This lawsuit is without merit.”
Palm Beach County Circuit Court Judge James Nutt concluded that Long was attempting to silence Davey’s political speech. He thus decided that the litigation fell under the state’s Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation statute. The law most often arises when developers file lawsuits against residents protesting their projects.
Under the law, defendants can seek summary judgment, which Nutt granted Davey. That means he won without a trial. Nutt ruled that Long can’t refile it. Long is not appealing.
But there remains the matter of legal fees, which the law allows defendants to collect if they prevail. In a court filing, Davey’s attorney is seeking nearly $21,000—about $18,600 in fees and the rest in costs. Long said he will challenge that.
In a text message, Davey cited the litigation and the ethics complaint, saying, “It looks like Long’s going to have a lot of legal costs to pay in 2023.”
Jadusingh draws high praise in annual review
Delray Beach Community Redevelopment Agency Executive Director Renee Jadusingh drew much praise from her bosses last week during her annual review.
Petrolia and the commission, who make up the CRA board, gave Jadusingh a 6.5 percent raise. There were no written evaluations, as there were for City Manager Terrence Moore, but the sentiment was unanimous.
“I’m thrilled,” Petrolia said. “Your team is amazing,” Commissioner Adam Frankel said. Ryan Boylston noted of the CRA staff, “You built that.”
Jadusingh succeeded Jeff Costello in 2019 after serving as assistant director. The raise is retroactive to June 29, the anniversary of Jadusingh’s start date.
Delray CRA to appoint advisory committee
Speaking of the Delray Beach CRA, the board has approved creation of an advisory committee. City commissioners had promised to do so after eliminating the two appointed positions on the CRA board.
The committee will have five members, with one appointment for each board member. There can be no more than one member from each profession—law, architecture—and no more than one from any of the subareas within the CRA boundaries. The largest includes the southwest neighborhoods.
Each member can serve no more than two consecutive two-year terms. The committee, which will help the CRA set priorities and recommend projects, will meet every three months. All members are expected to attend CRA meetings.
Applications are due by Oct. 31. Board members are scheduled to appoint the committee in November, and it will start meeting in January.
Boca approves new staff hires
Boca Raton City Council members approved four new positions for themselves, but not without some hesitation.
Though her colleagues asked for the hires to help with what they said are scheduling demands, Fran Nachlas said she can manage her time with current staff resources. She wondered if the council should approve a lower number.
It is unusual for part-time city policymakers to seek this many new positions. In addition, the item came to last week’s meeting as an amendment for the budget year that ends Sept. 30.
Mayor Scott Singer, who would get what some have called a chief of staff, quickly said any hiring before then would be unlikely. The cost of the positions for a full year would be $365,000. Given how long hiring can take, Singer said it’s also unlikely that the council would spend the full amount next year.
Still, the approval is a precedent. Boca Raton has a city manager/council government. These hires extend the reach of the city council.
Boca gives prelimary approval to development in Park at Broken Sound
Also last week, council members gave preliminary approval to changes that would allow new development in the Park at Broken Sound, formerly the Arvida Park of Commerce.
The council previously had approved a similar ordinance for the Boca Raton Innovation Campus, IBM’s former Boca Raton headquarters. Combined, the changes could mean significant expansion of the city’s northwest jobs sector.
Because each proposal would change the city’s comprehensive plan, the council had to send both to the state for its review. After that’s done, the ordinances will come back to the council for public hearings and votes.
