- April 25, 2024
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Palm Coast District 4 City Councilman Steven Nobile, who was elected to the council in 2014 and had previously announced that he would not run for re-election this year, is resigning effective May 16, 2018, because of family considerations concerning the care of his mother-in-law.
"I've enjoyed being on the council," he said April 23. "I’d never been involved in politics to this level, and I didn’t know what I was getting into. And I really enjoyed the challenges."
Nobile announced his intention to resign to fellow council members and city staff members in an April 23 email and also sent an emailed statement to the local press later the same day.
To fellow City Council members and staff, he wrote:
"As you know, I had chosen not to run for re-election because I knew Angela and I would be moving in the next 2-3 years. Well, due to family health issues, that time frame has been greatly accelerated. After living in Palm Coast for nearly 37 years, we will be most sorrowfully leaving the area. Therefore, I must regretfully inform you that I will be resigning my position as Pam Coast Council Member District 4 effective May 16, 2018.
"I want to tell each of you that it has been a pleasure and an honor to serve this great city with you. Regardless of the words and the tones, I see each of you as heroes who stepped up to the challenge of doing what most people will not even consider. I wish you great success with our city and more importantly a long and healthy life."
Nobile had said several months ago that he would not run for a second term in 2018 because he and his wife have been planning to move to the Tampa Bay area in the next few years to be with family there. He's resigning before the end of his term, he said on April 23, because his mother-in-law had a bad fall and can't be left alone.
"My wife is living with her, because she can’t live with us because we have a two-story house," he said. "So our life plans got accelerated by two or three years. We were considering selling the house here and just getting another house in Palm Coast, but my kids and my grandkids are in Tampa. ... They said, 'No, just come here, take the plunge and make one stop, one move.'"
Nobile closed on a house in Odessa, north of Tampa in unincorporated Hillsborough County, last week, he said. He and his wife will be moving in early June.
Nobile said that in his time on the council, one of his main goals for the city has largely been accomplished.
"I really was pushing the city to move away from the mindset of, 'We are a bedroom community,' and getting more economically sound ideas to promote that for the younger people in Palm Coast and to retain, or re-attract, our college people that have gone away," he said. "And I would have loved to stay and see that through. … But we have changed the mindset. We’ve hired an economic development person, we’re kind of more talking about an innovative process. ... We accomplished that: That was my main goal being on the City Council."
One thing, he said, has disappointed him.
"I really wanted the council to be a little more respectful, a little more receptive, to what the residents want in this town," he said. "I fear that hasn’t changed, and I feel it isn’t going to change."
He cited two issues as examples: The council's 4-1 vote, with Nobile dissenting, to approve the construction of a 348-unit residential development along U.S. 1 that had drawn opposition from area residents; and the council's 3-2 vote, with Nobile and Councilwoman Heidi Shipley dissenting, to build a path on an FPL easement in the F-section despite opposition voiced by nearby residents before the vote.
"I tried to stick up for (residents) as best as possible and keep the city from doing things that would harm them to someone else’s advantage and tried to keep the playing field level for our residents," Nobile said. "That’s the kind of stuff that they're going to have to stand up for themselves now."
According to the city's charter, the City Council will be responsible for appointing someone to fill Nobile's vacant seat by a majority council vote within 30 days of the vacancy. The appointee would then serve until the upcoming election.
That charter provision is one of three that voters, in the upcoming election, will have a chance to change: A proposed amendment to the city's charter would allow the council to opt not to fill vacancies that would occur, as Nobile's will, within six months of an election, and would give the council 90 days, rather than 30, to make the replacement.
"Unfortunately, it’s a year late," Nobile said of the potential change.
The last time the council found itself with a vacant council seat was when City Councilman Bill McGuire resigned two weeks before the city's primary election in August 2016. The council didn't appoint an interim council member before the primary, and when Bob Cuff got more than 50% of the vote in the primary, it seated him early.
"We kind of got away with it when Councilman McGuire had to leave, because we were really close," Nobile said. "I really wanted to stick it out as long as I could, but it just keeps getting closer, and it’s hard for my mother-in-law; it’s hard for my wife."
The primary election for Nobile's seat will be Aug. 28. If one candidate gets more than 50% of the vote, the seat will not go to a runoff election. If no candidate gets more than 50% of the vote, the top two vote-getters will move on to the Nov. 6 general election. As of April 23, there was only one candidate registered: John E. Tipton IV.
Nobile, 57, said he expects to miss Palm Coast.
"It’s going to be a change of life for me," he said. "I kind of grew up here. ... All my adult life has been here. This is home for me now."
Hillsborough County, he noted, had a population of about 1.3 million as of 2015, while Flagler was at about 105,000.
"It's going to be like 10 times Flagler County — interesting. I may just hide in my house," he said with a laugh.
Nobile does contracting with the U.S. Navy and Air Force and expects to continue that when he moves. He's also owned gun shops, both brick-and-mortar and online, in the past.
"We may open a business or two, see how things work," he said. "I've got to get a feel for the area. … It’s a lot of people."
As to politics?
"My wife has threatened me: She said I need to give her a good solid year or year and a half before I get myself involved in anything," Nobile said. "But I will definitely be going to local meetings."
Nobile's full written statement, emailed to the press April 23, is as follows:
For over 37 years, my family and I have called Palm Coast home. Through the ups and downs, heavy construction and quiet woods, influx of new faces and the comfort of old friends, we rode the wave of Palm Coast. I spent almost my entire adult life here, since I was 22 years of age. If you asked me a year ago what I would be doing this year, I would have answered, “campaigning, of course.” But lo, a year is a long time to predict, and things happen.
Aside from family time, the last three and half years have been my favorite in Palm Coast. Running for and winning an election for City Council District 4 was an exciting and edifying experience, as has been serving in that position for the same period. I have had the privilege to meet and interact with the best of Palm Coast, which technically is a lot of people from the Northeast, so I feel like I never really left.
We had planned to move within the next 2-3 years, and that was what forced the decision to not run for re-election. However, due to family health issues, we have greatly accelerated that move, and we are there. So regretfully I must announce my resignation from the position of council member for District 4, effective May 16, 2018.
I want you to know that I consider this position as one of my most honored. I have never enjoyed being verbally abused and praised so much. When it happened, I knew they were listening, and that was a great pleasure.
In all my years in Palm Coast, the first question you asked someone was, “Where are you from?” I would always answer, “Brooklyn.” Now, in Tampa, when someone asks that question I will proudly answer, “Palm Coast.”
“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying Goodbye so hard.” — Winnie the Pooh
Your Friend, Colleague, Acquaintance, Neighbor and Fellow Palm Coaster,
Steven Nobile
