Former Miami Lakes mayor Michael Pizzi was reinstated to his old position Tuesday.
Pizzi was arrested in August 2013 on bribery charges and found not guilty last August. Since then he’s been trying to get back his seat as mayor.
Current mayor Wayne Slaton won’t budge. This has led to a circuit court judge ruling that Pizzi be reinstated.
A shakeup like this has the ability to affect the town government’s morale.
Bob Preziosi is a management professor at Nova Southeaster University’s Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship. In his professional opinion, the town will now face new challenges with the recent shakeup.
“For something like to happen, it’s disruptive. Now they may be happy that he’s coming back, they may be glad that he got exonerated, but that doesn’t mean that it’s gonna be like a foot fitting into a shoe nice and comfortable,” said Preziozi.
The circuit court ruling allows for an immediate return to office for Pizzi. The town has 30 days to file an appeal. If that happens, Slaton would continue as mayor until the appeal was settled in a higher court.
The town says that government operations haven’t halted in any way. They know that there’s still the possibility of an appeal and are waiting it out.
