Florida Mayor Drops Bombshell Resignation, Accuses Town Council of Rampant Corruption in an Email Sent to Residents

Jim Rostek, the elected Mayor of Madeira Beach, Florida in 2023, abruptly resigned, citing rampant corruption within the town’s government as his reason.

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Jim Rostek, the elected Mayor of Madeira Beach, Florida in 2023, abruptly resigned, citing rampant corruption within the town’s government as his reason.

His resignation was accompanied by a scathing email sent to residents on June 14, accusing City Manager Robin Ignacio Gomez of corrupt practices, the Catalyst reported.

Rostek, who took office in April 2023, expressed deep regret and visible emotion about his decision to step down.

“It brings tears to my eyes that I had to step away, but it just is what it is,” Rostek wrote in the email, adding, “My hope is that someone at the state level sees this and asks me for an interview because what is going on here is not right.”

The former mayor’s allegations against the city administration range from discriminatory code enforcement to financial improprieties.

“I am sorry to leave. But with a city manager as such, I cannot be or have any part of Gomez’s corrupt behavior, talking in circles, lies, preferential treatment of ‘some’ or discriminatory enforcement practices. As well as the everyday wasting of the tax-payers’ money and trying to justify it,” Rostek wrote. “In the end, some will go up to the pearly gates and some won’t. I will always do what is ethical and correct, others not so much,” Rostek wrote, as reported by Fox News.

More from Fox 13.

Rostek said the stress of City Hall dealings resulted in a series of health scares.

He explained to FOX 13 that he’s a stickler for ethics, safety and the city’s liability. He said his efforts to address those issues went nowhere.

“The city manager refused to implement any policy. He said he would talk to them and I told him, ‘talk is cheap.’ I said, ‘you need to have policy to back up what you’ve told them, because when it comes time for a lawsuit, we’re not going to have any ammunition to substantiate,’” he said. “If you don’t get the small things right, what about the big things?”

Rostek also called out wasteful spending, concerns over the city’s procurement process and what he called selective or discriminatory enforcement. He said he believes there’s more.

“God only knows what else is going on. You don’t know what you don’t know until you start looking and digging deeper.”

City Manager Robin Gomez told Fox 13, “While entitled to his opinions, the city has provided answers and resolutions to the comments although not completely supported/agreed/understood by Mr. Rostek. It is unfortunate that the disagreements and misunderstandings of city processes and policies by Mr. Rostek led him to state/list claims of corruption, which are simply baseless and false.”

Anne-Marie Brooks has taken over as mayor, having previously served as a city commissioner.

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