Council appointment comes amid furor

A council member says the city attorney didn't pressure her into nominating a man for a vacant council seat.

By ANNE LINDBERG

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 5, 2000

KENNETH CITY -- Despite accusations by residents, a council member denies she was pressured into nominating Russ Dumont to fill a seat on the Town Council.

But Fran Luke said she had been "put on the spot" by the town attorney when he recommended that she nominate Dumont. She had refused to vote for Dumont earlier in the meeting when he was nominated by another council member.

Luke had not wanted to vote for him because Dumont had been head of the Make Kenneth City Safer Committee, which wanted to dissolve the police department and use the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office for public safety. Then Dumont assured council members that he would heed the voice of the voters, who overwhelmingly decided to keep the police department.

At that point, town attorney Paul Marino turned to her and said it would be appropriate for her to nominate Dumont. Luke did, and Dumont went on the council by a 3-1 vote. Ron Sneed was the only vote against Dumont.

Marino's instruction to Luke raised eyebrows, especially among those who opposed Dumont's appointment. Later, word spread that Luke had said she felt pressured into making the nomination.

"He has no right telling a council person how to vote," former council member Harlene "Honey Bee" Bowie said of Marino's action.

But the attorney later apologized, she said, and he did not cause her to act against her will.

"I would have voted for him after he answered my question," Luke said. "I would have looked like an idiot if I didn't do it" after saying that was her only objection to Dumont.

"I take his word for it," she said of Dumont's stance on the police department. "That's over and done with. The people have spoken. I was satisfied."

The uproar over Dumont's appointment to the council arose during last week's workshop. Kenneth City resident Muriel Whitman questioned the way the council had chosen Dumont for the spot vacated when Chuck Webber left the council for a job annexing land for Pinellas Park.

Whitman said she had gotten a copy of the minutes from the June 21 special meeting when Dumont was appointed. She noted that Marino, the council's parliamentarian, did not require the nominations to have seconds.

"Do we not follow Robert's Rules of Order?" she asked.

Marino answered that Robert's Rules say such a second is unnecessary.

"It could have gone either way," Marino said. "It's a house option."

Whitman also wondered about Dumont's qualifications and interest in town government.

"I don't see Mr. Dumont at many meetings lately," she said.

Mayor Bill Smith answered for Dumont, saying he had attended meetings regularly in the past and most recently has been on the town's Board of Adjustment.

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