Major drama in Walton County: Commission votes 4-1 to fire Administrator Quinn Robertson

SANTA ROSA BEACH — The Walton County Board of County Commissioners voted 4-1 Tuesday to terminate the employment of Walton County Administrator Quinn Robertson after a vote of no confidence was motioned by Commissioner Tony Anderson.

The only dissenting vote was Commissioner Donna Johns.

Here is what we know:

How did we get here?

On Nov. 13, Anderson brought up the initial motion to terminate Robertson after Anderson was unsatisfied with a report of Robertson’s actions since he was hired in June 2023. After taking no action at the Nov. 13 meeting, the discussion was tabled until Dec. 20.

At that meeting, Anderson provided more insight into his no-confidence vote by saying the 17-page report did not come close to satisfying the direction of the board, claiming “insubordination” on Robertson’s part.

Commissioner Danny Glidewell also voted no-confidence due to claims that Robertson told multiple department heads not to meet with the commissioners during the 2024-25 budget talks.

After verbal sparring between the two commissioners and Robinson, with accusations ranging from vaping in county buildings to members of the board politicizing their relationships with employees to gain votes, Commissioner Brad Drake motioned to table the termination proceedings until the Jan. 23 meeting.

Public outcry

With Robertson filing litigation against Walton County, meeting procedures state that during the public comment section, those who wish to speak cannot comment on the legal issue. This legal litigation would cause an eventual conflict between Chairman William “Boots” McCormick and those who offered remarks.

In all, more than 20 residents of Walton County stepped up to the podium in support of Robertson, with no resident offering dissenting remarks.

One of those residents who spoke was Fred Turicker. During his remarks, Turicker mentioned that Robertson could be fired without cause per Robertson’s contract. While he understood that situation, Turicker thought it would be fair to the public if members of the board could provide an official reason why Robertson should be fired.

This led to McCormick to question Turicker.

“When was the last time you questioned the sheriff on who he hired and fired as the deputy sheriff? When was the last time you confronted any elected official on who they hired or fired?” McCormick asked.

That question led to some noise from those in attendance. While Turicker answered the question by saying that he hasn’t questioned any official, he also spoke on behalf of the audience, saying that this termination could set the county back 10 years.

“The people sitting here want change,” Turicker said before McCormick cut him off.

“We have an election for that,” McCormick replied.

Dan Mataccheiro then took the podium with written remarks and asked not to be interrupted until he finished. McCormick interjected that would not happen as long as he stayed on topic.

During Mataccheiro’s remarks, he stated that he intended to come before the board to appeal to its sense of right and wrong and to do what’s in the best interest of the citizens. He then addressed McCormick, who called Mataccheiro out of order. This led to a back and forth, and McCormick then called for a 10-minute recess.

Once resuming, Mataccheiro requested his 3-minute speaking time be restarted, which McCormick denied. Mataccheiro then brought up McCormick’s assumed displeasure with the ongoing legal proceedings. Mataccheiro was then called out-of-order for a second time; at that point, two Walton County Sheriff’s Office staffers approached the podium.

After some back and forth, Mataccheiro eventually stood down and returned to his seat in the audience.

The next speaker, Dan Curry, asked an open-ended question of the board members: Why, after a month, could the board not reveal a cause for termination?

McCormick asked Anderson to answer that question. Anderson replied, “No.”

Standing alone

At the end of a lengthy public comment section, the conversation then turned back toward members of the board. The motion was then reintroduced by Anderson, with Glidewell seconding the motion.

While Anderson and Drake spoke in favor of Robertson’s termination, Johns stood alone as the only one in favor of keeping Robertson with Walton County.

Johns opened her remarks by recalling an interview with Robertson, where she and Anderson both shared that they were impressed by how well Robertson did in his interview. As of Tuesday, Johns still held those feelings and noted how well he performed with the pressure he has faced since his arrival.

“What are we doing as a community? What are we doing to ruin someone’s life, to have them move to this area, to be the best thing that I have seen?” said Johns. “We got a mess and we need to clean it up. We need to get professional, we need to get organized, and we need to do things properly, and (Robertson) to me is our hope for that.”

“This is our opportunity to really move this county forward and make things proper and have them done right instead of all this backstabbing,” Johns added. “I wanted to come in and help do roads and parks and stormwater; instead, I am doing this. I don’t like it. I don’t like it at all.”

As Johns concluded her remarks, she received an overwhelming ovation from those in attendance.

As the voting began, Johns said she was shocked, disappointed, and totally disgusted before the eventual outcome was announced. During her turn to vote, Johns said the decision would cost Walton County a lot of money.

What’s next?

With Robertson’s termination, the county will have to pay him $70,000 due to the inner workings of his contract. A special meeting will be held on Friday, Jan. 26, at 3 p.m. in Freeport to select an interim county administrator.

This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Walton County Commission fires County Administrator Robertson