EDITORIAL: Carey’s Bid to Use Public Resources Threatens to Chill Public Discourse
Commissioner wants you, the taxpayer, to cover her legal bills. There is just one GLARING problem… and several smaller ones.
Commissioner Lissette Carey’s push to have taxpayers cover her private legal bills marks a troubling chapter in Key West politics — one that threatens to erode public trust even further and while simultaneously chilling the democratic process to its core.
Carey is asking the taxpayers of the City of Key West to reimburse her for attorney’s fees tied to a citizen-led recall effort — which was a result of her own actions.
Or inaction.
The proposed resolution before the City Commission this week asserts that Carey “successfully defended” the suit.
Here is the only problem.
She didn’t.
That’s simply not true.
Monroe County Clerk Kevin Madok’s official court records show the case remains active.
On Aug. 12, Carey’s attorney filed an amended complaint, listing only the recall organizer and the City of Key West as the last remaining defendants.
“The City of Key West is named for the purpose of the relief requested by the Plaintiff. This action is for a temporary and permanent injunction to enjoin further proceedings in the effort to recall Commissioner from office as the District 4 Commissioner of the City of Key West.”
For those of you playing along at home, you read that correctly.
Carey — who a grand jury said should resign — is asking you to pay her legal fees so that she can get a permanent injunction staying any further attempts by her constituents to remove her from office.
The issue was so pressing, that Carey’s attorney asked for an immediate hearing.
The last action was on Aug. 15, when the recall organizer filed for a declaration of mootness to end the suit.
It is now Oct. 4 and the ball remains in Judge Bonnie Helms court.
Either the Clerk’s own records are wrong — and maybe he deserves an audit of his own — or Commissioner Carey and Harden are.
Not only are they wrong, they are without any legal standing to ask taxpayers to foot the bill given that the case has not been successfully defended — and is in-fact ongoing.
The recall of Lissette Carey wasn’t a random political stunt.
It was born out of the Monroe County Grand Jury’s seething report on corruption and dysfunction at City Hall — a screed to power that fell short of indicting the sitting commissioner — yet called for her resignation in the interests of the public and transparency.
And rightfully so.
The same report tied her to what is best described as a “boardroom coup” — the ouster of former City Manager Al Childress over the Corradino Report that highlighted what we now know were serious legal and ethical issues gnawing away at the very marrow of public trust at 1300 White Street.
To date, thanks to Carey doing the bidding of the former City Attorney, Chief Building Officer and Code Director the Corradino Report has never been publicly addressed by commissioners.
The orchestrated public knifing of Childress — allegedly engineered by “Bubba Bozo Trio” — the brothers Ramsingh and Jim Young — resulted in multiple felony indictments.
At last count, the tally was at 21.
That case — and the joint investigation between the Monroe County State Attorney’s Office and the FBI — is ongoing.
For Carey now to seek public reimbursement while the lawsuit spawned by the recall continues isn’t just premature — it’s arbitrary and capricious.
It is a move is so unreasonable that it shows a clear error in judgment.
As did thumbing her nose at the grand jury suggestion that she resign and slink back into the shadows.
A Dangerous Precedent
If the City Commission signs off on paying Carey’s private legal fees, it sends a dangerous message: That elected officials can use taxpayer money and resources as a bully pulpit to insulate themselves from political consequences.
Kind of like extending mayoral term limits.
It’s hard to imagine a move more corrosive to civic engagement. The very citizens who tried to hold Carey accountable could end up footing the bill for her legal defense — and immunity.
And not just those in her district.
Anybody that contributes to the municipal tax base.
That creates a chilling effect — a clear deterrent to anyone considering future recall or reform efforts.
Carey’s move also risks setting a disturbing precedent already visible on the national stage — the use of public resources to quash the public’s voice.
If you aren’t enraged, you aren’t paying attention.
When political power is used not to represent constituents but to suppress scrutiny elected officials, democracy itself begins to rot from the head down.
Democracy itself depends and thrives on dissent. When those in power can make the public pay for silencing their critics, something fundamental breaks.
Legal and Ethical Lines
Florida law is clear: officials may be reimbursed for legal expenses only if they prevail in cases arising from the performance of official duties.
Carey hasn’t prevailed.
Her case isn’t over.
And this recall wasn’t about the performance (or lack thereof) of official duties.
It stemmed from ethical breaches and abuse of the office and power associated with it.
A more experienced city attorney than the resolution’s sponsor, interim City Attorney Kendal Harden, would have recognized that the move was premature and legally unsound.
In fact, the language of the resolution itself reads as though it could have been drafted by Carey’s personal attorney, Juan-Carlos Planas, in close alignment with her political goals.
By claiming victory prematurely and rewarding her request, the City Commission risks misrepresenting the legal reality and normalizing political self-protection with public funds and resources.
It is the quintessential definition of gaslighting.
What Commissioners Should Do
Commissioners should reject — or at the very least — table Carey’s reimbursement request until the court has ruled and all appeals have run their course.
Anything less undermines norms of political and judicial processes while abandoning the interests of the taxpayers they are sworn to represent and protect.
If Carey ultimately wins in court, she can return with a legitimate claim.
Until then, City Hall must resist the temptation to rewrite reality for convenience, loyalty or sloth.
The Bigger Picture
Key West has weathered scandal before.
But few moments have been this stark in showing the divide between public service and self-preservation.
This island needs sunshine — maybe even a sunburn — not spin.
The grand jury called for accountability.
The public demanded it.
The City Commission now has a choice.
Honor that demand, or bury public accountability under reams of paid legal invoices.
The latter provides an opportunity for lots of reaping.
Editor’s Note: The reimbursement resolution is expected to come before the Key West City Commission at its October 9 meeting during the morning session scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. The lawsuit spawned by the recall against Commissioner Carey remains pending before Monroe County Circuit Court.