Fernandina Beach Vice Mayor David Sturges for the first time publicly commented Tuesday night on two ethics complaints naming him .
"The allegations against me are wholly untrue," Sturges said in reading a prepared statement during the city commission meeting. "And I look forward to the eventual findings of the Ethics Commission. All elected officials are entitled to a defense against allegations regarding their performance of official duties serving a public purpose."
Sturges' comments were made just prior to a 4-0 commission vote approving a resolution authorizing City Attorney Tammi Bach to work with the city’s claims administrator to appear on behalf of and defend Sturges before the state Commission on Ethics over a complaint filed on October 18, 2023. Sturges recused himself from the vote.
Sturges now is facing two separate ethics investigations. A different ethics complaint against Sturges was filed last March.
The complaints, and all ethics commission proceedings and records relating to the complaint, are confidential unless Sturges wishes to disclose them. He did not disclose the nature of either complaint in his statement.
"I have not in the past nor will I ever take any action to violate the code of ethics," Sturges said. "Any citizen can file an ethics complaint against an elected official. These complaints are confidential while the ethics commission investigates the allegations. I will honor the process of confidentiality. But I look forward to the conclusion of the investigation. At that point details of these unfounded allegations will become public record."
He said the complaints were the result of "those in our community who abuse the process by which all elected officials are held accountable. Whether the abuse occurs in the form of filing false complaints or by malice feeding false information through social media. This political gamesmanship is unacceptable."
Sturges said the complaints were a distraction from his important work on the city commission.
"I will do everything in my power to represent all of my constituents to the best of my abilities," Sturges said.
As the owner of a residential building contracting company and owner of numerous properties in the city and county, Sturges has repeatedly failed to recuse himself from voting on issues that could benefit himself, clients or friends.
City Attorney Bach has cautioned Sturges in the past on his comments and votes in the debate over the closure of Brett’s Waterway Café because Sturges failed to disclose a conflict of interest when the Brett’s matter first was discussed and voted on by the city commission in 2020. Sturges has a business partner who also is employed by Brett’s.
After City Attorney Bach told him that he had a conflict of interest in the Brett’s matter, Sturges has since recused himself on Brett’s votes.The ethics complaint came to light when the city commission’s April 18 agenda was made public and the city commission subsequently voted to pay his legal bills.
There has been no determination issued by the Ethics Commission regarding the original complaint against Sturges.
Comments