At 5 p.m., Wednesday, June 25, the Key West City Commission meets in special session for its first discussion of the May 29 Monroe County Grand Jury report, which led to the criminal indictments of three top city employees and the recommendations for the overhaul of the city’s planning, building and code enforcement policies and procedures.

The report is scathing. “What the evidence demonstrated was due to City Attorney (Ron) Ramsingh’s overwhelming unchecked power and influence, he along with his brother and others (what the grand jury called the ‘boy’s club’) were able to create a ‘false shield,’ a toxic bubble of protection enabling the misconduct while silencing other city employees and manipulating city officials.”

The special meeting can go one of three ways. (1) The commission can — and should — unanimously adopt the grand jury’s recommendations and instruct City Manager Brian Barroso to develop and implement each of them. That would make for a short and effective meeting. (2) It can ditch the report, sweep the whole mess aside and go back to business as usual. (3) Or it can spend the meeting quibbling about optics and the validity of the report and nattering about how unfair it all is to, well, the fine folks named in the report.

We’re likely to get a lot of No. 3 and maybe much of No. 1. I don’t see how commissioners could even consider number two, but, hey, weird politics and a profound reluctance to rock the boat play heavily in these things.

The grand jury and the commission | What to watch for

These are the five things I’ll look for on Wednesday.

No. 1: The elephant in the room. Will commissioners push Commissioner Lissette Carey and Assistant City Manager Todd Stoughton to resign? The grand jury called for them to go. Although that captured headlines and happy hour for a couple days, it’s faded from public discussions. Carey responded with an adamant “no way” and Stoughton’s still sitting behind the city manager and chiming in at commission meetings.

Stoughton, who resigned on June 14, 2024, for what he called personal reasons, returned to his position shortly after the commission meeting on June 26 that fired former City Manager Al Childress. Carey unequivocally said then that she knew Stoughton would agree to return if Childress were gone.

The grand jury report puts Carey and Stoughton squarely inside the group, including brothers Ron and Raj Ramsingh, Jim Young and current and former commissioners, determined to bury the criminal activities at City Hall or simply go along to get along with longtime friends. Either way, neither Carey or Stoughton should be part of the grand jury report discussions. The conflicts of interest are simply overwhelming.

The commissioners can fire Stoughton, but they can’t force Carey to voluntarily step down. District IV voters can do that, either in the next election or with a recall, which some in her sprawling New Town district are trying to do.

No. 2: Unprepared commissioners. The grand jury made it crystal clear that some don’t read, much less understand, the blizzard of reports they receive, preferring to let others tell them how to vote. Even casual watching of commission meetings proves that. They can get so bollixed up, like Commissioner Aaron Castillo did on June 4, that they don’t even know what they voted for and have to be counseled on how to reverse the vote.

It takes me hours to wade through the background materials for public meetings, so I understand the challenge. Commissioners have a part-time job that pays them a meager $23,153 annually (the mayor gets $26,040). Given the flood of community unrest and the challenges facing the city, from failing piers at Mallory Square and light poles rusted away on the White Street Pier to escalating concerns over ICE and immigration, being a commissioner these days ain’t for the faint of heart.

But commissioners who haven’t read — multiple times — the Corradino Report and the grand jury report with its supporting documentation before next week’s meeting should recuse themselves. You can’t discuss your options to clean up this sordid mess without understanding how you got here.

No. 3: The optics. I lost track of how many times Commissioner Sam Kaufman used the phrase “consider the optics” during the June 4 commission meeting. It was a lot. Sam, I get what you mean and I agree, but let’s cut back on the rhetoric. That goes for the rest of the commissioners. We don’t need to spend time arguing over how something looks, who knew what when, who did what to whom or how truly lovely the staff is. The grand jury already did that. This city and its residents aren’t worried about the optics. They’re worried nothing will be done. Just get down to business.

No. 4: The audience. There’s every chance there will be a long line of residents lining up to speak. I’m all for public comment, but, really, folks, do we need a recitation of everything you’ve said before? Not this time. If someone’s already made your point, sit this one out. I want two hours of robust discussion and problem-solving from the commission, not two hours of hectoring rhetoric. See Number 3. Just let them get down to business. Please.

No.5: Mayor Dee Dee Henriquez and Commissioner Donie Lee. These commission newcomers are the hardest to “read” because they tend to hold their opinions close until a final vote. The mayor does that, in part, because she’s the one running the meeting. Lee, who appears to think strategically on issues, tends to listen to others, then lay out his positions before he votes. I don’t predict how they’ll vote, but watching and listening to them will be important.

Henriquez told the Keys Citizen that she was committed to implementing the grand jury recommendations. With the exception of Carey’s resignation, which the mayor acknowledged was Carey’s to make, she endorsed the others.

“I believe that all of the recommendations outlined in the grand jury report,” she said, “can and should be implemented, aligned with the betterment of City Hall. We must act with a strong commitment to improving process, policy and fiscal responsibility — and it must be done now.”

The grand jury remained hopeful in its report that the city would do the right things. Next week’s meeting won’t be the final chapter, but it will tell us whether these commissioners can be the leaders we elected them to be.

Read the grand jury and Corradino reports

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