A West Park commissioner is sounding the alarm and taking legal action against city officials over what she alleges is corruption.
At a news conference held Friday, Dr. Katrina Touchstone provided copies of the lawsuit she has filed against Mayor Felicia M. Brunson, City Clerk Alexandra Grant and City Manager W. Ajibola Balogun.
Following acrimonious exchanges and abrupt endings to city commission meetings, the commissioner said she’s had enough.
“We have been impeded in the capabilities of doing our job,” said Touchstone. “Each and every time that an item comes up that the mayor is not in agreement with, she arbitrarily adjourns the meeting.”
Touchstone claims meetings are ended when Brunson sees things aren’t going her way.
“The mayor’s packing up. I guerss she’s choosing to leave,” a commissioner is heard saying in video of a meeting that ended early.
Touchstone said she wanted the commission to approve a special council to investigate allegations of corruption within the city.
She said the resolution had enough votes to pass, but a vote was never taken because of the mayor.
“She has refused to instruct the clerk to call the roll,” said Touchstone.
Touchstone had proposed the hiring of attorney Michael Pizzi to lead the investigation. Now he’s representing her in this lawsuit.
“The mayor, the city clerk, the city manager have shut down democracy in the City of West Park,” said Pizzi. “It’s being run like a mob. I mean, it’s being run like a dictatorship.”
7News on Friday caught up with West Park Vice Mayor Joy B. Smith at City Hall.
When asked to comment on Pizzi’s claim that the city is “being run like a dictatorship,” Smith replied, “Yes, it is, it is. I felt that way, too, and I can definitely say it is that.”
A 7News crew also went to Brunson’s home to get her side of the story, but nobody came to the door.
She and Touchstone will come face to face again, when the commission meets again in September.
“It’s unfortunate that, again, it has come to this point, but we have urgent city business that needs to be handled, that is being impeded by the actions of our mayor, our city clerk, in conjunction with our city manager,” said Touchstone.
7News has reached out to Brunson, Balogun and Grant for a response and has not heard back.
Touchstone said she hopes a Broward County judge will step in and take control before the next meeting.