FORT MYERS, Fla. — The city council motion to immediately remove Fort Myers city attorney Grant Alley failed Monday night.
The motion was brought by Councilmember Darla Bonk, who told Alley he “failed us” back in March regarding the vote involving ICE and the Fort Myers Police Department though she says her concerns go back years and that this was not personal and not about one specific incident.
“Making a change is not an act of retaliation or driven by malice or conspiracy or hurt feelings,” Councilmember Bonk said.
Fort Myers City Councilmembers talk with community corespondent Stephen Pimpo about why it is time to move forward after the controversial ICE vote:
During Monday’s meeting, Councilmember Bonk said her issues with Alley date back to 2022 and involved contract language, absence during important meetings and the need to be more prepared during council meetings.
“I agreed with Councilmember (Teresa) Watkins-Brown when she said part of the responsibility belongs to us, the elected official, to make sure we are informed about the item we are going to vote on,” said Mayor Kevin Anderson.
Councilmember Watkins-Brown said that while she understands the frustration over the ICE vote, she believes there are more important matters facing the city.
“Yes it could have been done better,” she said. “But now that the situation is over, I feel that we need to move on.”
Councilmember Terolyn Watson said the fault also lies with city manager Marty Lawn and tried to make motion to have him suspended Monday, which also failed.
“I could not terminate one without terminating the other,” Councilmember Watson said. “They both at the time did not brief us (on the ICE vote). They did some things and didn’t know some answers to some questions that were really valuable to us at that time.”
Fort Myers resident Bruce Strayhorn defended alley during public comment.
“I’ve known Mr. Alley for 30 years in his performance and quite honestly, I don’t know anybody that agrees every time with every lawyer but I believe his performance has been exemplary,” Strayhorn said.
The city is set to review Alley’s performance during next city council meeting at the request of the next human resources director.
Councilmember Fred Burson did raise the issue of starting the process of finding Alley’s replacement for when he steps down in 2026. That issue is on the agenda for the next work session.
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