In a surprise announcement Dec. 18 at the end of the Naples City Council meeting, Vice Mayor Mike McCabe announced his resignation, effective Dec. 31, citing new state-mandated financial disclosure forms as his reason for stepping down.
McCabe said Florida’s new Form 6—Full and Public Disclosure of Financial Interests—required to be filed by all elected officials in the state annually with the Florida Commission on Ethics starting Jan. 1, is an egregious assault on privacy, an assault on one’s rights and an unacceptable government intrusion. Completed forms are searchable on the internet by the general public.
“As I have said, I am mad as hell and I am not going to take it anymore,” McCabe said in an emotional statement influenced by a famous quote from the 1976 movie Network. “I will not accept this government intrusion.”
Elected to City Council in 2020, McCabe had been expected to seek reelection to a four-year term in March, when three Council seats and the mayoral seat are on the ballot. The reason for McCabe’s resignation is the same one given by council member Beth Petrunoff, who has not formally resigned yet but is considering doing so before the financial disclosure mandate begins at the start of the new year.
To illustrate the concern faced by elected officials, McCabe encouraged citizens to “post on a public forum for any and all to see” their tax returns, list of assets greater than $1,000 and other personal financial information.
“I have one question for you: If you knew to apply for a job you had to go and list all of your financials out on a public forum, would you apply for that job? Hell no,” he said.
“If you don’t file it, there is a penalty and a fine of $25 per day and civil penalties up to $20,000 and removal from office. Also, there’s the possibility of perjury charges because you’re signing the form and attesting to its truthfulness and its completeness. Should there be an omission or a disagreement to what is listed, you’re in trouble.”
McCabe said the form has been weaponized against public officials.
“One individual who’s sitting in this audience, who’s sitting somewhere in the public who doesn’t like what you’ve said, doesn’t like what you’ve voted on, can file an ethics complaint and say you did not disclose to the fullest capabilities and to the completeness and it’s off to the races,” he said. “This has been weaponized. It will be weaponized.”
McCabe said many other public officials in Florida plan to resign before the end of the year because of the financial disclosure form. “So, this is not a Naples-specific issue,” he said. “This is a municipality in the state of Florida issue created by the state Legislature.”
“Therefore, I will not accept, and I will not be subject to this assault by this state government. This has forced me to a point that I never imagined but must do. I will be tendering my resignation for the Naples City Council effective Dec. 31. It is with great sadness that I do this.”
A resident of the Coquina Sands residential community, McCabe retired to Naples after 35 years of professional corporate experience, including 21 years as vice president of Xerox Corp. One of his main goals on Council was to restore a more equitable balance between resident and commercial interests in an effort to retain the charm, character and feel that makes Naples unique.
Petrunoff said she is sorry that McCabe is resigning.
“He will leave a big hole on Council. He was a fierce protector of the environment, he defended against overbuilding—even being threatened by one developer in town,” she said. “Mostly, residents could count on Mike to act on their behalf with speed and integrity.”
After the meeting, Petrunoff was asked about the effect that McCabe’s resignation may have on her pending consideration to resign.
“I will make my decisions independent of Mike,” she said. “I’m pretty mild-mannered, unemotional, and I agonize to collect and analyze as much data as possible to make my decision. This is what I am doing now. I am lucky to have so many friends who are willing to lend me their financial people/attorneys to make sure every possibility is explored in completing this disclosure. If we can find a way to disclose and maintain a comfortable level of privacy, I’ll stay. I’d love to find a way.”
Petrunoff, elected in 2022, is in the middle of her four-year term. If she resigns, her seat would be on the March ballot, where voters would elect someone to complete the remaining two years of her term. Council also has the option of appointing someone to temporarily fill the seat until the election, interim City Attorney Ralf Brookes told Council.
McCabe’s resignation guarantees that Naples will see three new faces on Council next year. Because council member Ted Blankenship is running for mayor, he cannot seek reelection to his Council seat, which has its four-year term up in March. Council member Paul Perry’s term also expires in March, and he has chosen not to seek reelection to another four years.
The filing deadline is in January for a race where three citizens already have filed to run for a seat on Council in the March election. Linda Penniman, who previously was elected to Council in 2014 and 2018 but stepped down in early 2019, will be on the ballot with two political newcomers and longtime residents of Naples—former Naples High football coach Bill Kramer and family law attorney Tony Perez-Benitoa.
Also in the March election, which has a later date than usual to align with the presidential primary in Florida, incumbent Mayor Teresa Heitmann is being challenged by Blankenship and former Council member Gary Price.
Naples City Council consists of seven members, which includes the mayor, each elected at large in a nonpartisan race to a four-year term. Early voting for the March 19 general election will be March 9-16. The deadline to request a vote-by-mail ballot is March 7.
