Unsurprisingly, the North Miami Beach commission voted this week to drop the lawsuit against Mayor Anthony DeFillipo accusing him of living outside of the city.
The outcome was all but expected after a judge ordered all commissioners to begin attending meetings again in March, restoring the quorum needed to conduct business after months of inaction. Commissioners Michael Joseph, McKenzie Fleurimond and Daniela Jean had been absent from past meetings, boycotting the mayor’s residency status. Now that they’re back, DeFillipo and the commissioners who have stuck by his side, Phyllis Smith, Jay Chernoff and Fortuna Smukler, comprise the commission’s majority.
(CityNMB.com)
Michael Joseph, NMB Commissioner
Former city attorney Hans Ottinot had initially brought forth the city’s lawsuit against the mayor, but he resigned before the March meeting in anticipation of a public firing long sought by DeFillipo. The commission in turn voted to enlist interim city attorney John Herin Jr., setting the stage for the lawsuit’s dismissal.
There had been a four-hour evidentiary hearing scheduled for April 27 when the lawsuit was dismissed.
Now that the case is dropped, there’s no telling whether DeFillipo is in the clear of violating residency requirements outlined in the city charter. The Miami-Dade County Commission on Ethics and Public Trust told Biscayne Times as of Thursday that it cannot confirm nor deny whether it is conducting an investigation into DeFillipo’s living situation.
The State Attorney’s Office, however, did launch a review of DeFillipo’s voting record in February after it was revealed that the mayor had used an old address to vote in three elections in 2021.
The city commission also voted on Tuesday to allow Joseph to testify regarding his absences during a hearing at the May meeting. Joseph has been in the middle of his own legal battle against Chernoff, who sought a court’s injunction to remove Joseph for being absent too many times.
(CityNMB.com)
Mario Diaz, NMB Village Manager
According to the city charter, a commissioner’s seat becomes automatically vacant if they fail to attend meetings for a period of 120 days. Joseph’s first absence was on Dec. 20, 2022.
Fleurimond, who was later added as a defendant to Chernoff’s lawsuit, has until April 27 to respond to the complaint seeking his removal.
In the meantime, the tides in leadership have turned again. The commission voted to hire Biscayne Park village manager Mario Diaz as city manager, replacing interim city manager Mark Antonio. Diaz also is the former chief of staff for North Bay Village.
Additionally, former city manager Arthur “Duke” Sorey III will lose his 20 weeks’ severance pay after the commission voted 4-2 to rescind its prior vote to fire Sorey without cause and instead fire him with cause. Chernoff cited “massive misspending” for the decision, which later led the commission to hire DeFillipo’s and Chernoff’s attorney Michael Pizzi to further investigate the matter.