4 months after acquittal, Kris Fitzgerald hasn't been reinstated to Lake Wales Commission

Four months after her acquittal in a Polk County court, there are no indications that former Lake Wales City Commissioner Kris Fitzgerald will be reinstated to office.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended Fitzgerald from office in July 2021, about a month after the Polk County Sheriff’s Office arrested her on charges of interference with custody and aggravated assault. Fitzgerald had taken office just three months earlier after ousting incumbent Al Goldstein by a mere 33 votes.

DeSantis signed an executive order saying that any elected official indicted in a crime may be suspended from office until acquitted. That would suggest Fitzgerald could have been returned to the City Commission following her acquittal.

DeSantis’ office did not reply to emails from The Ledger asking if there is any possibility Fitzgerald could be reinstated to the City Commission.

More:Former Lake Wales commissioner Kris Fitzgerald acquitted of threatening 11-year-old with gun

More:Jack Hilligoss, Daniel Krueger win Lake Wales elections. Trish Pfeiffer returns in Bartow

More:Lake Wales City Commission approves resolution setting time limit for public comments

State statute seems clear

Lake Wales held an election in April to fill the open seat, and Daniel Krueger defeated James Loydd by 95 votes.

A Florida statute says that if a municipal official is acquitted or otherwise cleared of charges that were the reason for a suspension, “then the Governor shall forthwith revoke the suspension and restore such municipal official to office.” The statute adds that the official is entitled to full back pay and other allowances lost during the period of the suspension.

The statute addresses situations such as Fitzgerald’s, in which a city has held a subsequent election to replace the suspended official. If the official’s term expires during the suspension and a successor is appointed or elected, the official is not reinstated but will receive back pay for the duration of the term they would have served.

Fitzgerald was elected to a three-year term that would have continued into May 2024. A month after her suspension, the City Commission voted 4-0 to appoint Jack Hilligoss to fill her position on an interim basis until May 2022, unless she were reinstated before then.

With Fitzgerald still suspended, the city included Seat 4 in the April 2022 election. Krueger won that race, while Hilligoss was elected as mayor.

Lake Wales city commissioners are paid $8,724 annually and may participate in an employee health insurance plan. Based on a monthly pay of $727, Fitzgerald would be entitled to about $25,000 for the remaining 34 months of the term to which she was elected.

Fitzgerald spent one night in the Polk County Jail on charges that she used a gun to threaten an 11-year-old boy whom she'd picked up without the parents' permission. An arrest affidavit said that Fitzgerald confronted the boy about an incident she said occurred between him and her daughter, who was 13 at the time.

After her acquittal in October, Fitzgerald said she was “still pondering” whether to pursue reinstatement to the City Commission. She did not respond to voicemails left more recently.

Supporters have created a petition on change.org asking for Fitzgerald to be returned to the City Commission. As of Friday afternoon, 101 people had signed the petition.

'Might need to be settled in court'

Aubrey Jewett, a professor of political science at the University of Central Florida, said Fitzgerald’s situation is complicated by the fact that so much time has passed since her suspension and that Krueger has since been elected to her seat.

If an appointed or interim official were occupying the seat, Jewett said, it would be “fairly routine and straightforward” for Fitzgerald to be reinstated.

“However, now that another person has been elected, it adds a layer of complexity and a legal question: does the FL governor have the right to suspend a duly elected local official in order to reinstate the originally suspended office holder?” Jewett said by email. “This might need to be settled in court should DeSantis refuse to act and if Fitzgerald then decides to sue.”

Jewett cited two previous cases for comparison. Former Gov. Jeb Bush suspended Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer in 2005 after he was charged with election violations, but the charges were soon dropped and Bush reinstated the mayor. The city had only appointed an interim mayor at that point.

In 2013, former Gov. Rick Scott suspended Miami Lakes Mayor Michael Pizzi after he was arrested on federal corruption charges. Following Pizzi’s acquittal the next year, Scott announced that he would not reinstate him because a special election had been held and a new mayor chosen.

Pizzi sued, and the Florida Supreme Court ruled in favor of his petition for relief. That prompted Scott to reinstate Pizzi as the city’s mayor. He later won a court battle and received more than $2 million to cover his legal fees.

Jewett raised another possibility for Lake Wales.

“Of course, another possibility would be If Krueger voluntarily resigned, then the path would be clear to easily reinstate Fitzgerald,” he wrote.

Fitzgerald’s mother, Brenda Kennedy of Lake Wales, spoke at a City Commission meeting in December and recited the state statute that says a municipal official will be reinstated to office if cleared of charges that led to a suspension.

“Just as fast as you called the governor and had her suspended, I would like to see her reinstated and her full back pay given,” Kennedy told commissioners.

Fitzgerald herself addressed the City Commission during a meeting last month, urging commissioners not to adopt rules reducing the time allotted for public comments. She mentioned her run for the commission but made no mention of her suspension or any efforts to be returned to office.

Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on Twitter @garywhite13.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: No signs Kris Fitzgerald will be reinstated to Lake Wales Commission