The Palmetto Bay council is calling on Councilman Steve Cody to resign for his controversial remarks after the recent killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk — but many in the South Dade village, including its vice mayor, argue Cody should be removed for other reasons.
Despite the village council’s vote against Cody last week, he insists he will not resign amid protests over his suggestion on Facebook that Kirk’s shooting death was a fitting sacrifice to the gun lobby.
Cody has since apologized for what he now calls the "stupid" post, which he deleted. Even so, the village, which itself cannot legally oust Cody in this case, now appears to be relying on Governor Ron DeSantis to strip him of his seat.
Palmetto Bay Vice Mayor Mark Merwitzer, however, argues that for DeSantis to avoid accusations that Cody's First Amendment free-speech rights are being violated, the Governor should suspend Cody instead for a raft of other alleged misdoings.
“There is a long history of Cody abusing his position to demonize, bully and harass residents," Merwitzer told WLRN.
"There’s so much beyond just that Facebook post that would give more weight to the Governor’s ability to investigate and remove this guy.”
READ MORE: Palmetto Bay Councilman Steve Cody: From hometown hero to public pariah
Merwitzer and other Palmetto Bay residents, who showed up en masse last week at the council meeting to rebuke Cody, point to several other pugnacious social media posts that lampoon, sometimes in sexist and other offensive manners, locals and officials he opposes.
Cody, once hailed as a Miami-Dade government-reforming attorney, has also been accused of extortion in a riff with one opponent, which he denies.
President Donal Trump — to whom Kirk was a powerful political ally — won Palmetto Bay in the 2024 presidential election.
Merwitzer and Cody are both Democrats, but they’ve butted heads recently over a village property dispute — which includes accusations that Cody is using village government resources to favor a lobbyist crony, which he also denies.
As part of that quarrel, Cody is suing Merwitzer for allegedly not being sworn into his vice mayoralty properly.
“If you look within Palmetto Bay at the people who are calling on him to resign," Merwitzer said of Cody, "it is across party lines.”
Cody admits he is "not your typical politician," as he told the New York Times over the weekend, and that his style can be abrasive. But he insists that's not grounds for his removal.
As a result, he told reporters last week after the council voted, "I intend to finish my term until it ends in 2028."
