North Miami Beach Commissioners turn against each other, city at standstill

MIAMI – Another explosive commission meeting in North Miami Beach as commissioners turn against the city attorney and against each other as the city remains at a standstill.

The main takeaway is the mayor and three commissioners want the city attorney to go to court to force no-show commissioners back to the dais.

Tension mounts as the ones absent support a legal opinion Mayor Anthony DeFillipo is out.

Mayor DeFillipo is under fire after legal findings bring into question his primary residency and voting record.

CBS4’s Joe Gorchow asks, “One question before you head out. Can you at least look at this sheet right here of your voting record? Can you answer the precincts you voted in?

“Stay behind the line,” said DeFillipo.

“Well, can you please come back and answer this? Then, please come back and look at this voting record,” Gorchow asks.

Documents from our investigation show DeFillipo voted from a home he sold in 2021 three times last year.

Documents we presented to two commissioners in attendance, along with photos of the mayor and his wife, from last November at his 1.2 million dollar home he owns in Davie.

“If Mr. DeFillipo doesn’t live in the city, then Mr. DeFillipo should be removed,” said Commissioner Jay R. Chernoff.

“It’s not for the commissioners to make the decision,” Commissioner Fortuna Smukler said.

Thursday night, city leaders present at the workshop discussion issued a stark warning to the commissioners absent.

“Take away their health insurance for a month, everything. They want to walk out on a city meeting and not break a quorum and not let the city do business, let them suffer,” said Chernoff.

Directing the city attorney to go to court to force the three commissioners who did not attend the last commission meeting to return so they can conduct city business.

“Saying I’m not going to come to a meeting while he’s a mayor is childish,” said Smukler.

Without them, the city lacks the members needed to conduct city business.

In previous reports, two of the commissioners not in attendance told CBS4 they sided with the legal opinion and city attorney. Believing the mayor is no longer the mayor, therefore, would only attend once the matter is resolved or the mayor steps aside.

“I have an obligation to ensure we are compliant with the charter and city code,” City Attorney Hans Ottinot said.

Ottinot explained why he agrees with the legal findings the mayor “automatically vacated” the seat.

DeFillipo felt betrayed by the process of how the legal opinion was issued.

“You stabbed me in the back in the damn back. You had good and well the opportunity to pull me aside and say mayor, explain this to me,” said DiFillipo. “You put the narrative out there that I vacated my seat because of an opinion.”

The city attorney acknowledges his opinion does not remove the mayor from office. And the legal opinion cost the city around 20 thousand dollars.

It will only get more expensive as this will play out in the courts, with a lawsuit filed by the mayor to change by-laws to allow the city to conduct business.