Sebastian City Councilmember Pamela Parris wants to reconsider her vote for the appointment of Albert Iovino to the Police Pension Board of Trustees.
After some discussion from Damien Gilliams, who appeared to be against the appointment of Albert Iovino, the mayor called for the vote. Gilliams argued that there would be too many police officers on the pension board.
Parris was first to vote, stating “Aye” in favor of the appointment. Gilliams looked over at Parris, angrily, and the two whispered something to one another. Gilliams was not happy.
The interaction between Parris and Gilliams was caught on video following her vote.
This behavior has become a regular occurrence between Gilliams and Parris whenever they vote. Parris does not know how to vote on issues, so she leans on Gilliams to help her vote. We have seen this happen many times during the City Council meetings.
There have been many times Parris had shouted “Here!” during a vote, thinking it was a roll call for attendance when it was a significant issue.
Now, many residents say Parris wants to reconsider her vote to please Gilliams. They are dragging Albert Iovino back into the meeting so she can change her vote to “no” to deny this man the right be on the Police Pension Board of Trustees.
“I can only imagine the reason to bring this up and their opposition to Mr. Iovino could be their disdain for the police, possibly due to their earlier interactions? I don’t know why anyone would stand in opposition to this appointment,” Councilman Jim Hill told Sebastian Daily.
Sebastian residents have witnessed Parris being swayed by Gilliams because she doesn’t know how to vote. It makes people wonder what other conversations these two are having without the council, which would undoubtedly be a Sunshine Law violation.
Some residents believe this motion is retribution over what happened with Robert Bedea, who was reinstated by Gilliams and Parris following his arrest for hitting a police officer. Gilliams and Parris spearheaded the motion to reinstate Bedea to the National Resources Board to avoid a public hearing.
Then, to make matters worse, Parris blamed the press for the reason she seconded Gilliams’ to reinstate Bedea because of “negative energy.” Bedea later stepped down from the board.
“If you think about it, they’re using Bob Bedea as a precedent for this action. This is in direct retribution for Bedea. No other explanation fits,” Michael Goodfellow of Sebastian said.
However, many people are expressing their disappointment about Parris.
“If this vote comes back before the board it will serve as proof that Damien and Pam are discussing council business outside of the chamber at a public meeting. She doesn’t have any reason except that Damien wasn’t happy with her,” Christopher Nunn of Sebastian said.
“How about bringing back the vote for Council so people can change their votes to oust these 2 fools,” Tony Miracola of Sebastian said.
“Well I think all the people who voted for Pamela Parris should change their vote,” Ann Lucier of Sebastian said.
“I believe that Gilliams should recuse himself from any police matters before the City Council. It truly appears that due to past experiences with Law Enforcement officials in his personal life, he has tainted beliefs about our great Sebastian PD. The moral decision is to recuse himself from further police business before the council,” Dave Kahl of Sebastian said.
Iovino is a former city council member. He’s also been a law enforcement officer for more than 25 years with a great education. He is well qualified to be on the Police Pension Board of Trustees.
The discussion will take place at the next City Council meeting on Wednesday, February 12, 2020, at 6:00 p.m.
According to the City Council agenda, the Public Input has been moved closer to the beginning of the meeting so that people don’t have to wait 2 1/2 hours before they can speak.
