Bartow city commissioner is latest to resign over new financial disclosure rule
Another elected official in Polk County has resigned rather than reveal financial details required by a state law taking effect Monday.
Steve Githens, a Bartow city commissioner and former mayor, submitted his resignation Friday morning. He is at least the fifth elected official in Polk County to resign this month.
Three of Eagle Lake’s five city commissioners submitted letters of resignation, though longtime City Commissioner Suzy Wilson withdrew hers on Wednesday to spare the commission from being left without enough members to take official actions.
Githens cited the same reason as the Eagle Lake commissioners: a law passed in the 2023 legislative session mandating that municipal elected officials complete Form 6, a financial disclosure requiring more detailed information than the one they had previously been asked to submit.
Githens said he composed a letter of resignation earlier in the week and consulted with Bartow City Attorney Sean Parker before submitting it Friday. Githens described Form 6 as “utterly invasive,” echoing an adjective used by Eagle Lake Mayor Cory Coler, whose resignation took effect Friday.
“I love the city of Bartow,” Githens said Friday. “I love public service, I'll always be a public servant, in one way or another. But it just came down to the fact where, this was not enacted when I ran for office the first time. It was not enacted when I ran for reelection. This was sort of sprung on us here, and it's just one of those things that just hit us really hard. We wouldn't have ever dreamed that that would have ever come into play.”
Longtime Fort Meade City Commissioner Bob Elliott announced his resignation in December, pointing to the financial disclosure as the cause. Polk City Vice Mayor Wayne Harper has also resigned.
What happens now? Will DeSantis replace dozens of local officials who resigned ahead of a new disclosure law?
From housing to air traffic to spring training, Lakeland made investments in 2023
Githens helps operate an insurance agency in Bartow opened in 2007 with his wife, Michell Githens. Previously the director of Lakeland Area Mass Transit, he was first elected to the Bartow City Commission in 2020 and easily won reelection in April 2023.
Form 6 compels elected officials in cities and towns to disclose details about their assets and liabilities. Under certain criteria, business owners must identify customers and clients.
Githens said he worries that the mandatory disclosure will dissuade some well-qualified candidates from seeking to run for office.
“If they (the Legislature) don't come up with some sort of new rule, it will discourage successful business people from running,” he said. “And that hurts our city.”
All six of Polk County’s members of the Florida Legislature voted for the law, titled Ethics Requirements for Public Officials, which passed handily in both houses. Legislative leaders have said the more detailed disclosures are needed to ensure that local officials do not have conflicts of financial interest.
Githens’ term is scheduled to expire in April 2026. The remaining city commissioners are expected to appoint a replacement, and Bartow will hold a special election in April for a commissioner to serve the rest of term for Seat 4, which is elected at large, City Clerk Jackie Poole said.
Bartow city commissioners receive a salary of $13,425, which includes compensation for serving on the city’s airport authority.
Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on X @garywhite13.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Bartow commissioner is latest to resign over financial disclosure rule
