Dear Editor:
It’s been three weeks since the grand jury recommended that Commissioner Lissette Carey resign. Carey immediately made clear she has no intention of doing so, despite the embarrassment her actions have brought upon our community.
Carey is not just any commissioner. She is also Key West’s vice mayor. Mayor Dee Dee Henriquez nominated Carey to this position as one of her first official acts last year.
Although the role is not clearly defined in Key West’s Code of Ordinances, the vice mayor is typically granted the powers of the mayor in the event of the mayor’s absence. As vice mayor, Carey is the second most powerful member of the city commission. Her nomination was a clear sign that Mayor Henriquez fully trusted Carey to lead the city if and when she herself is not on the dais.
Does Mayor Henriquez still have that faith in Vice Mayor Carey in the wake of the grand jury’s findings? It appears that she does. There was no resolution to name a new vice mayor at the city commission meeting two weeks ago, as many expected. When asked about Carey in this paper last week, Mayor Henriquez said Carey’s future as a commissioner is “something she (Carey) will have to decide.”
The grand jury found “a pervasive culture of negligence, nepotism, manipulation and abdication of duty at the highest levels of city leadership.” Many worry this negative culture continues, even after the arrests. The grand jury also concluded that “the Mayor wants to take a proactive approach by initiating reforms.”
Many citizens who read the documents released by the State Attorney’s Office were encouraged by this positive assessment of the mayor. Text messages released by the investigation had suggested that Mayor Henriquez and Vice Mayor Carey were in lockstep with the city attorney during the conspiracy to terminate the former city manager. It was this termination that drew the state attorney’s scrutiny in the first place.
The grand jury reviewed far more evidence than did ordinary citizens like me. These jurors have done an incredible service to our community, and I accept their conclusion, for now, regarding the mayor and her desire to initiate reforms.
But Mayor Henriquez must take concrete steps to show the broader public that the grand jury’s faith in her is not misplaced. It is typically the role of the mayor to nominate and remove his or her vice mayor, so Mayor Henriquez must take the lead. Time is running out. Removing Carey from the vice mayorship is low-hanging fruit that will soon spoil.
Mayor Henriquez should act immediately and name a new vice mayor at the special meeting called for June 25 at 5 p.m. It’s a small step. But we need many small steps to get the city back on track, and this should be an obvious place to start.
Sincerely,
Arlo Haskell
Key West
