Just eight minutes of video raise serious concerns about Milton Mayor Wesley Meiss’ leadership.
Press Gazette reporter Matthew Brown on Tuesday captured a heated exchange among Meiss, Councilwoman Mary Ellen Johnson and city attorney Heather Lindsay during a meeting intended for swearing in city leaders.
What should have been a day of celebration for Johnson devolved into a political witch-hunt.
It started when Councilman Alan Lowery said he received documents before the meeting that challenged Johnson’s legitimacy to serve Ward II. Vaguely described documents, which he said included a Facebook printout, purported that Johnson does not live on Barnes Street, which is in Ward II.
Such vaguely described documents — and, oh yes, that printout from a Facebook page — were enough to convince Meiss to open discussion on the issue and pull rank on a sitting council member.
Then everything, in a town that some city officials call Northwest Florida’s Mayberry, started to look more like Gotham City.
Meiss’ first mistake was threatening to remove Johnson from the building if she would not take a seat — off the dais, with the audience. Johnson won her seat with 2,062 votes compared to challenger Cara Schepper’s 1,813, according to the Santa Rosa County Supervisor of Elections Office website. She had a right to sit at the dais.
Meiss’ second mistake was deviating from the agenda. As he stated to Johnson, when she would not leave the dais, “This is a meeting; there’s an agenda.” Yes, Mr. Mayor, and that agenda included swearing in Milton’s new council members — not accusing elected officials of malfeasance and dividing the community with antics even Lindsay called out. The city attorney said election officials confirmed Johnson’s residency to qualify her candidacy. “The public records show that there is no legitimate basis to this challenge and that means that this challenge is simply theatre and I object to what you are doing,” she said to the mayor.
Meiss’ third mistake was suggesting Robert’s Rules of Order — which the City Council has never adopted — compelled city leaders to delay Johnson’s swearing in. No, they did not. Again, election officials verified Johnson’s residence several months ago; “the only ‘evidence’ (to the contrary) is some hearsay,” Lindsay said. “A procedural point of order does not trump the law.” Lindsay’s job is to advise city officials on the law. That Meiss doubled down on his mission against Johnson, despite hearing Lindsay’s advice, is concerning.
Meiss’ fourth mistake was being politically tone deaf. Just last month, critics questioned a post on his Mayor Wesley Meiss of Milton, Florida Facebook page showing support for City Council candidates Casey Powell, Cara Schepper, Peggi Smith and Jeff Snow. Men with Vision’s secretary initially questioned the lack of diversity in his choices, who all happened to be white. (Their challengers included Jimmy Messick, Johnson, Henry G. Martin and R.L. Lewis, the last three of whom are black.) Fast-forward a month and we see Meiss, a white man, telling a black woman who has every right to sit at the dais to “sit down” in the audience, where she does not belong.
When Johnson stood up for herself and remained at the dais, we thought of civil rights champion Rosa Parks taking a seat in front of a Montgomery, Alabama bus despite the driver telling her she belonged in the “Colored Section.”
We don’t believe Meiss is racist. However, skilled politicians know that perception for residents — and voters — is reality. When Donald Trump repeatedly interrupted and talked over Hillary Clinton in presidential debates, cable news talking heads questioned whether he was sexist. You may not agree that white male privilege exists, but many people do; that is why elected officials consider every action’s optics.
At least, if they want to be elected — or re-elected — they do.
Another optics problem? Voters could believe that bias fueled Meiss’ behavior toward Johnson. He vocally supported Schepper in the general election. He ignored the city attorney’s advice on Tuesday and persecuted an elected official based on a claim without a full investigation. A reasonable action would have been to swear everyone in, investigate the claim later, and then determine what should be done if an unlikely discovery was made.
Instead, a potentially baseless claim and heated exchange forced Johnson to compromise her brother’s medical privacy to state that he is autistic and she sometimes cares for him and occasionally stays at his home.
You can’t blame Johnson for raising her voice to say, “I duly won the election … I’m about the city of Milton and have been about the city of Milton.”
Johnson should be commended for standing her ground and remaining at the dais, despite the mayor’s jaw-dropping actions.
“I actually think this entire thing is absolutely ridiculous and it should be shameful that it is handled in this manner,” City Councilwoman Sharon Holley said.
We agree.
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This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Milton mayor’s 4 mistakes that could cost him re-election