Nick Adams becomes second Bartow city commissioner to resign before state law takes effect
The Bartow City Commission has now lost two members in one week.
Vice Mayor Nick Adams submitted his resignation on Saturday, the City Clerk’s office said. His resignation followed that of Commissioner Steve Githens, who cited a state law taking effect Monday that requires local elected officials to submit more detailed financial disclosures.
In his resignation letter, Adams blamed the "invasive requirements imposed by the new Form 6."
Adams, who served in Seat 2, representing Bartow’s Central District, was first appointed in January 2022 to fill a vacancy. His term was scheduled to expire in April.
The remaining members of the Bartow City Commission are Mayor Leo Longworth, Trish Pfeiffer and Tanya L. Tucker.
What happens now? Will DeSantis replace dozens of local officials who resigned ahead of a new disclosure law?
At least six Polk County officials resigned in the month before the law took effect, including two city commissioners in Eagle Lake. A third submitted her resignation but rescinded it so that the commission would not lack a quorum needed to take official actions.
In Fort Meade, longtime commissioner Bob Elliott announced at a meeting the week before Christmas that he would resign effective Dec. 29. Elliott was set to leave the commission anyway on Jan. 9 after losing his re-election bid.
Polk City Vice Mayor Wayne Harper also resigned.
In Lakeland, outgoing interim City Commissioner Samuel Simmons also resigned Dec. 30, just a couple of days before his term officially ended, citing the new law in part.
Simmons, who lost in a municipal election runoff to Guy Lalonde for Lakeland's Northwest District seat, said he wasn't opposed to the new law, but he didn't see the need to fill out the paperwork when his term ended the next day.
"If I had won reelection, I would have filled out the form," he told The Ledger on Tuesday. "There’s no sense in completing that paperwork when I’m leaving anyway. It’s just inconvenient."
What is Form 6? Why are so many elected officials abruptly resigning across Florida?
The new law requires commissioners to itemize all individual assets and liabilities of more than $1,000 and must report household goods and personal effects collectively.
Officials must identify not only their primary income but also secondary sources of income worth more than $1,000. They must disclose clients and customers contributing more than 10% of a business’ gross income if the official owns more than 5% of a business that produces more than $1,000.
The form previously submitted by local officials was less detailed, requiring disclosure of assets and liabilities of more than $10,000 and not including lists of household goods and personal effects. The threshold for secondary income was $5,000.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Nick Adams becomes 2nd Bartow commissioner to resign over state law
