APOPKA, Fla. – At the Apopka City Council meeting Wednesday, commissioners sparred with Mayor Bryan Nelson before voting to censure him after weeks of allegations he lied about the employment status of the city’s former attorney.
“I motion that we stop the chair from speaking on non-relevant items on this topic (...) Motion has been passed,” Seat 3 Commissioner Kyle Becker said, speaking over Nelson.
“Wow, wow, what a circus you’ve created,” said another speaker, off-screen.
The arguments went on for around 30 minutes ahead of the vote, the latest events in weeks of tension surrounding the city’s former attorney, Michael Rodriguez.
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Community-led efforts to oust Nelson began to pick up speed in 2022 after the death of Apopka firefighter Austin Duran, whose father Michael Duran was present at several council meetings after the fact to demand accountability and safety reform from city leaders.
Rodriguez publicly resigned at a meeting in May of this year — in the moment, telling councilmembers he was doing it to “save you some money” — yet allegedly remained on Apopka’s payroll for weeks, collecting thousands.
Nelson had since issued an itemized rebuttal to a petition’s otherwise unrelated reasoning for his ouster, claiming such things as how “we all share some responsibility” for Duran’s death, stating Apopka dedicated a higher percentage of its general revenue fund than some other cities to pay first responders and addressing an assertion he manipulated a city council election by mentioning how long he’s known Orange County Supervisor of Elections Bill Cowles, some 20 years.
Becker at a city council meeting in early July — held in part to consider whether to censure Nelson at the Aug. 2 meeting — described a timeline of events leading up to that point, noting the mayor’s refusal to honor a council vote on April 5 to terminate Rodriguez’s employment. Come June 7, Becker said the attorney was officially no longer employed by the city, yet was still being paid weeks later.
Nelson has maintained that councilmembers’ claims are untrue and that Rodriguez was working from home, assisting with the transition.
Wednesday’s censure vote was largely symbolic and will have no effect on the mayor’s authority.
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