APOPKA, Fla. — Apopka commissioners have positioned themselves to vote and censure their leader, the city mayor, in a meeting next month.
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Commissioners Kyle Becker and Nick Nesta accused Mayor Bryan Nelson of misleading them about the employment status of the former city attorney between May and June. The pair were joined by Commissioner Diane Velazquez, who agreed with their statements.
Back in April, the three commissioners voted to fire the attorney because of firefighter Austin Duran’s on-duty death in 2022. However, Nelson refused to carry out the firing, arguing that his position as a “strong mayor” meant he had to sign off on all personnel decisions.
The attorney announced his resignation during a council meeting one month later.
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“I fear that I can no longer ethically represent this council,” he said, to applause.
However, commissioners later uncovered the attorney remained on the city’s payroll far after that. Nelson confirmed to Nesta that the attorney wasn’t employed by the city “as of today” during the city’s June 7 meeting.
Nesta then confronted Nelson on June 21, revealing the attorney still remained on the payroll.
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“I don’t know what the term for it is,” Nesta said at the time. “It seems like theft.”
The attorney’s employment ended the next day.
Becker, who lost to Nelson in the last mayoral election, brought the censorship resolution up during Wednesday’s meeting, citing the June 7 comment by Nelson as a misrepresentation of the facts.
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Nelson defended himself to commissioners by saying they themselves weren’t being accurate. He explained that the attorney agreed to remain on staff during a transition period, despite not showing up to council meetings.
“Did I say he resigned? Yes,” Nelson said during a follow-up interview, acknowledging his mistake. “He was instrumental in a couple of candidates he’s helped us interview and he’s done some work for us.”
Apopka commissioners voted Wednesday to hire an outside law firm to represent them in the future.
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While commissioners were poised to vote to censure Nelson immediately, they decided to wait until August to give them time to review the video footage of each meeting, as well as comply with Florida law.
If their vote passes, little would change, as the vote is mostly political and ceremonial.
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