With City Facing Lawsuit and Recall Effort, Minshew Endorses delaying paid parking until vote is held

In a significant shift that may reshape Fernandina Beach’s bitter paid parking debate, City Commissioner Genece Minshew on Tuesday said she is now open to waiting until voters decide in a special election before implementing a paid parking program — an idea she previously opposed but now calls a potential path toward restoring civic calm.

Minshew’s comments came during commissioner remarks at the end of Tuesday’s meeting. Citing escalating public hostility, a lawsuit by paid parking opponents, and an active recall effort targeting herself and Commissioner Tim Poynter, Minshew said the city cannot continue operating under “this continued anti-everything the city does unneeded distraction” as it faces major infrastructure and financial challenges.

“The past several months have been really difficult for our community,” she said. “The driver of the difficulty, a difference of opinion in how the city should plan and pay for major infrastructure projects.” 

She reaffirmed her philosophical support for paid parking as a long-term revenue source, stating she “strongly” backs the program. But she said the climate surrounding the issue has deteriorated into misinformation, anger, and outright hostility.

“There has been very heated and vocal opposition, much of it fueled by misinformation,” Minshew said. “That has now turned into a citizen petition, lawsuits against the city, [and] the possible recall of at least two recently elected officials.” 

She framed her proposal as a way to give fellow commissioners time to discuss options ahead of the Dec. 2 vote on the paid parking enabling ordinance.

The commission is scheduled to consider the enabling ordinance for paid parking on December 2. Minshew said she deliberately raised the special election option now so commissioners can spend the next two weeks evaluating it.

“I am proposing this tonight so that my fellow commissioners will have the time to think about it… and then be better prepared to make a decision on December 2nd.”

Her new position mirrors an argument made earlier this month by Vice Mayor Darron Ayscue, who on Nov. 4 called for a special election so voters could decide the paid parking question before the city enters any paid parking management contracts. Ayscue’s motion failed for lack of a second at that meeting.

Ayscue argued that holding the referendum sooner rather than later would de-escalate increasingly hostile tensions and prevent further legal challenges. He insisted the city should not sign any parking contracts until voters had their say.

Ayscue said then that the only way to “put this to bed” was to schedule a special election in early 2026 instead of forcing residents to wait until the regular August or November ballot. His effort collapsed when no commissioner supported bringing the motion to a vote.

On Tuesday, Minshew acknowledged his earlier argument directly:

“At the last commission meeting, Commissioner Ayscue stated that all of this would go away if we would just let people vote before we implement paid parking. After much thought, research, and consideration, I think the commission should consider this as an option," Minshew said.

Minshew added a key caveat: she would support delaying implementation of the paid parking program and calling a special election only if those fueling the current turbulence agree to stand down.

She said she wants “assurances that all of this going away means the lawsuit against the city will be withdrawn, the recall effort will stop, and the vitriol and hateful commentary on social media will…be eliminated.”

The paid parking plan — approved 4–1 earlier this fall — has ignited one of the most contentious political fights Fernandina Beach has seen in years.

Key elements of the controversy include:

• A Citizen Petition and 2026 Referendum in which more than 1,700 residents signed a citizen initiative placing a “no paid parking” ordinance on the 2026 ballot.

• A lawsuit Against the City as the same anti-paid parking political action group is suing to prevent the city from implementing the program before voters decide the referendum.

• A new commissioner recall effort of a grassroots campaign launched three weeks ago to recall Poynter and Minshew for supporting paid parking — marking the city’s first recall effort since the unsuccessful attempt against Commissioner A.J. Smith in 1992.

• A Management Contract and a $7 Million Line of Credit

Earlier this month, the commission approved contract conditions with a parking management company and authorized a $7 million line of credit tied to future paid parking revenue.

City leaders have said paid parking revenue is needed to support bonds for the downtown flood wall, demolition of Brett’s Waterway Café, bulkhead construction, stormwater upgrades, and long-delayed infrastructure repairs.

Minshew emphasized those pressures Tuesday, listing a series of large-scale projects —from seawall construction to drainage failures — plus ongoing litigation against the city.

“The city has important work ahead of us,” she said, noting that downtown revitalization has stalled repeatedly over the years. “We can’t let projects just peter out and fail to see completion.” 

Whether Minshew’s public reversal generates the votes Ayscue lacked earlier this month remains uncertain. But her remarks indicate that at least one member of the commission’s four-vote pro-parking majority is now open to a compromise aimed at cooling political temperatures. No other commissioners weighed in on her remarks during the closing session of the meeting.