A.G. Gancarski
Though controversy has yet to subside over the appointment of Republican Terrance Freeman to a perennially Democratic seat on the Jacksonville City Council, the defense strategy from Freeman and the city of Jacksonville is beginning to coalesce.
Brenda Priestly-Jackson, a Democrat and former Duval County School Board chair who was passed up for the appointment to fill the unexpired term of suspended incumbent Democrat Reggie Brown, charged that Freeman, who established residency in the district by renting two rooms in a private home the day he was appointed last week, was not a legitimate pick because he moved to Northwest Jacksonville solely to serve on the Council.
There are those who find it ironic that Priestly Jackson is questioning residency, given her own issues with that during her political career.
Broadly speaking, the point argued by the defense side is that issues regarding Freeman’s residency prior to his swearing in on July 12 are moot. And that the filing by the plaintiffs is out of line, with the court lacking “subject matter jurisdiction.”
Freeman’s lawyers, Rep. Paul Renner and Lindsey Brock, filed a motion to dismiss last week, charging that plaintiff Jackson was conflating the date of appointment with the date of swearing in (two days after Scott’s appointment email went out).
The motion to dismiss notes that the filing seeks to remove a sitting councilor from office, which contravenes the Charter’s assertion that the Council is the arbiter of qualifications to serve, an assertion backed up by similar language in the Florida Constitution.
The Renner/Brock filing also asserts that there is no “advance residency requirement” for service. As well, the motion to dismiss asserts an inextricable linkage between Councilman Freeman and the city of Jacksonville — a linkage asserted by the city itself in its motion to intervene in a case in which it was not a defendant.
“While Plaintiff purports to bring her allegations against Councilmember Freeman in his individual capacity, by alleging that he assumed his mantle as an active member of the City Council immediately upon appointment, Plaintiff has actually sued Councilmember Freeman as an active, sitting member of the City Council in his official capacity,” the filing adds.
Jacksonville has, per the filing, an “important governmental interest in participating in discussions, analysis and arguments over the application of its own laws.”
Jacksonville City Councilman Garrett Dennis, a Democrat who has been more vocal than anyone about what he perceives to be overstep from the Mayor’s Office, wrote the general counsel wanting a public clarification of the city’s decision to intervene.
“After multiple inquiries, you admitted that your client for this matter is the administration. Please identify who in the administration is your client,” Dennis wrote.
General Counsel Jason Gabriel responded Friday.
“I do recall saying that I did not think the City would get involved by representing Council Member Freeman in his individual capacity, but I do not believe I said, and certainly did not mean to imply, that the City would not get involved at all if the best interests of the City were to dictate otherwise. In fact, because of the erroneous interpretations of the City Charter alleged by outside third parties in this lawsuit, it would have been completely irresponsible for the City to sit idle,” Gabriel wrote.
The city authority added that “it is the authority—and more importantly the duty—of the executive branch to be briefed on matters of litigation, in addition to all the other executive branch responsibilities. The legislative branch is likewise briefed and consulted at the proper time and setting.”
“I hoped to make clear that while this Office might not represent Council Member Freeman directly in the case (even though it could), that because the case involved outside third parties making interpretations about our City laws as they relate to a sitting City official, that we as a City would have an imperative to participate in such a debate,” Gabriel added.
