JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – This week, Jacksonville City Council member Mike Gay introduced a resolution to formally request a review by the Florida Commission on Ethics of the decision by General Counsel Michael Fackler to hire the Bedell law firm for representation in the city’s criminal gun registry case.
Fackler’s father-in-law, Hank Coxe, has been a partner of the Bedell firm for many years.
Fackler publicly announced in May that the city had hired the firm, as members of the city council’s Rules Committee grilled him on the gun registry matter. Fackler explained the timeline, saying the city first became aware of the issue on April 21, and the Bedell firm was hired to begin handling the legal aspects.
The familial connection, however, has raised some questions, prompting Gay’s desire to see a written legal opinion.
“In the city, there are many firms that can specialize in criminal law,” Gay said. “I feel that this will bring clarity and transparency, and we don’t want to be a government that operates trying to maneuver and skirt through small, tiny loopholes.”
The city maintains that no ethics violations occurred.
A statement from a city spokesperson was given to News4JAX, saying in part:
The Office of General Counsel – in their independent role as the judicial branch of Consolidated Government – has hired Bedell in this matter. OGC did run the Bedell hire by the local and state Ethics offices and was advised that there is no violation of statute.
Spokesperson for City of Jacksonville
The spokesperson also supplied an email exchange between Fackler and Kirby Oberdorfer, the director of the city’s Office of Ethics, Compliance, and Oversight.
In the email exchange, Oberdorfer included what she said were the most relevant opinions regarding the state’s anti-nepotism law, writing the following:
In these opinions, the State Ethics Commission and Attorney General consistently determine that the anti-nepotism law applies only to employment/appointment to or within a government agency and does not apply to independent contractors who are hired to provide services, including professional services.
Kirby Oberdorfer in an email exchange with Michael Fackler
Earlier this week, Mayor Donna Deegan was asked about this matter during a news conference on a separate issue.
“We ran it by everybody as far as I know,” Deegan said. “I don’t have any problem with anybody ever asking for an ethics ruling on anything. That’s something we do on the daily here, so that’s fine.”
The proposed resolution is now in committee and is set to go through the regular council cycle. Council member Gay reiterated that the inquiry is about ensuring compliance with the rule of law.
“Rule of procedures, and we need to be above in making sure that we comply,” Gay said. “It’s not saying that we feel like there’s anything done wrong...I feel like there’s more that we need to explore and more information that we need.”
The outcome of this inquiry will determine whether any further actions are necessary.
The original resolution submitted by Councilman Gay can be seen below.
