Tom Campenni stepped down as Stuart mayor Tuesday following an age discrimination complaint. A third mayor in 4 months will be appointed Friday.
A city employee, Sam Amerson, filed a complaint with hopes of making sure the city manager selection process will be fair.
Amerson claimed he expressed interest in the job, but was discouraged from applying by Campenni. He told an investigator that Campenni said he would not vote for Amerson because he wanted a "younger guy with fresh ideas."
In Amerson’s complaint, he said he did not want anyone else to be discouraged from applying.
The internal investigation found Campenni did not intend to discriminate. However, Campenni still decided to resign from his position.
Friday, city commissioners could also discuss whether to remove him from any committees. Campenni has expressed that he will not resign from any committees.
Commissioners will also discuss hiring an outside investigator to review the internal investigation.
Commissioners made a similar vote to spend $10,000 on an outside investigation when former Mayor Eula Clarke resigned over offensive comments she made to a police officer.
Campenni sent a letter to his ‘Friends and Neighbors’ Tuesday, explaining why he resigned.
Read Campenni's letter of resignation
Dear Mr. Nicoletti:
Please accept my resignation as mayor effective immediately. Since it is a title conferred by a vote of the commission, I believe the person who holds the title should reflect the political will of that body. It is unfortunate that I no longer do.
After digesting the investigative report that the Human Resources Department prepared with the city’s outside expert, it found that I was not culpable of age discrimination. During my interview, I did agree that to have an impartial search that I would not vote if the party to the complaint was an applicant. The final report recommends that I not participate in the process at all. I concur with the findings of the report and will respect all its recommendations.
Obviously, I did not intend to imply that anyone is too old for the position. What I meant to convey is that the next manager whoever is chosen, is that they bring to the position new ideas and skills to lead the city forward. A city needs to adapt to changing needs since it cannot remain static and vibrant at the same time. The challenges that are facing us cannot be met without imagination and a desire to address those needs.
I will continue to work on the commission for my vision of a city that encompasses people of every income strata, age, religion and race. Stuart cannot be successful without all of us pulling in the same direction.
Tom Campenni
RELATED: Stuart commissioners to discuss demoting Mayor Tom Campenni following age discrimination complaint
Read Campenni's letter to his friends and neighbors below:
Dear Friends & Neighbors:
Based on recent events, I thought it was time to reach out. If you haven’t heard, I have had an age discrimination complaint filed against me regarding the city manager position. I have attached the entire report for your information. When told of this complaint by Human Resources, I immediately went to that department to address the matter. I purposely did not want to know who initiated the complaint to preserve a working relationship. During my interview with the HR Director, I admitted that I said “I was looking for someone who would not consider this position a retirement job.” And “that I wanted someone with fresh ideas”.
Since I did not express myself as well as I should have, I told HR that I would not vote as long as the party who made the complaint was in contention for the job. This would ensure that the party would not suffer any wrong. Ms. Johnson, the HR Director, said that was a fair outcome.
After consultations with the city’s outside expert, the findings of that report state that I did not intend to discriminate. The final report recommends that I remove myself from the entire process which I intend to do so that there is no inkling of any adverse effects. This report was conducted as part of the HR Department’s normal investigative process when complaints are filed.
I was much more familiar with working in small businesses where there is a shared feeling of being comrades-in arms regardless of position. As someone who had not been in government before, I perhaps became much too close to some city staff members. This lead to the language I used to describe the characteristics for the position to be imprecise, as if I were speaking to a friend and colleague. I wish to apologize to the employee, the city and you.
I was elected mayor not by the voters but by the other commissioners. It is apparent that they wish me to step down. Therefore, effective immediately I intend to resign as your mayor. It was an honor to hold the position even for a short period of time.
I do not intend to resign from any boards where I currently hold a position. I spend hours each week representing Stuart regionally and statewide. It is not coincidental that since I have been involved, Stuart has been recognized as a leading municipality throughout Florida. With that recognition comes benefits that are advantageous to all of us.
I am attaching my Stuart calendars for March and April so that you can see that I do not take this position lightly. These meetings represent everything from formal meetings to dropping into offices in search of information or to discuss a constituent’s problem. I do not just attend a couple of commission meetings a month and believe it is representing the people. I work hard for you. As you know, I self-fund my elections so that I am beholding to no one interest group. Perhaps that is why this has turned into a political matter.
It should come as no surprise to you that I believe that Stuart needs to represent all our citizens. It cannot be allowed to be captured by any one special interest. I have made it a priority to encourage millennials to become involved in our civic life. That group brings different sensibilities and desires than I,as a baby boomer. We need to embrace everyone who lives in Stuart regardless of age, income, religion, gender or race. I will continue to do just that.
I want to thank you for your continued support.
