Janelle Irwin Taylor
Embattled South Pasadena Mayor Dan Calabria is suing the city he works for as well as a fellow city commissioner and an private lawyer who issued a scathing investigation of Calabria’s behavior as mayor.
Calabria wants a judge to bar the city or city commissioners from taking any further action to remove him from office.
City commissioners, including Arthur Penny who is named in the lawsuit, voted to table an effort to remove Calabria from office during a meeting in March.
The move came after months of political infighting and a report by Port St. Lucie attorney W. Russell Hamilton III painting 79-year old Calabria as a cantankerous bully.
Chief among complaints is Calabria’s dealings with City Clerk Carley Lewis. Calabria’s position as mayor is largely symbolic because South Pasadena runs a weak-mayor form of government.
His vote carries no more weight than any of the other four commissioners and each oversees a sole city department. Calabria is in charge of administration, which includes Lewis.
The report and previous complaints found that Calabria has filed an unnecessary number of public records requests that have overburdened the clerk’s office. According to the Tampa Bay Times, Calabria filed more requests than the rest of the city combined.
Complaints have also been filed against Calabria with the Florida Commission on Ethics. One complaint, filed by Penny, alleged that Calabria misused his power by pressuring a liquor store owner to remove a sign supporting Penny and another commissioner, Max Elson. The ethics commission found probable cause in that case.
Another complaint – that Calabria disobeyed a commission vote – was dismissed. A third complaint is pending looking at whether Calabria violated Sunshine Laws by refusing to release private emails he sent summarizing public meetings.
Even though the commission has tabled consideration of firing Calabria, it could still come up. Calabria’s lawsuit seeks to make sure that doesn’t happen. It also asks for compensation for legal fees.
His lawsuit claims the complaints against him are purely vindictive. The suit alleges “accusations against the Mayor are false and the motion for removal is frivolous.” It also alleges that the attorney hired to investigate Calabria’s conduct as mayor was biased.
The Tampa Bay Times reported that if Calabria were to be voted out of office by the four other commissioners – all four would have to approve the move – he would run for re-election in December and challenge the vote in court.
Photo via the Gabber.
