The city commissioner of a small Florida beach town stepped down this week amid allegations that she sexually harassed her male co-workers — licking their faces and groping them.
Nancy Oakley, who worked for the city of Madeira Beach, was fined a penalty of $5,000 last month by the local Commission on Ethics for allegedly “misusing her position by exhibiting inappropriate behavior toward city staff,” according to a press release from the meeting.
She decided to resign Tuesday, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
City Manager Jonathan Evans plans to hold a meeting Thursday evening for the ethics commission to accept Oakley’s resignation and consider a resolution to publicly censure and reprimand her for her alleged behavior, the paper reported.
In her resignation letter, Oakley insisted she was innocent and said she intends to appeal.
She also called her resignation “a difficult decision” that she made to “still the controversy” over her alleged behavior, the outlet reported.
“It is time for us all to move on,” she added.
The allegations stem from a February 2017 complaint in which former Madeira Beach City Manager Shane Crawford said Oakley made “unwanted sexual advances” toward him and Dave Marsicano, then-director of the city’s public works department and the city marina, NBC reported.
The alleged advances happened during a 2012 fishing tournament, according to the report.
Crawford, fearing retribution, did not immediately report the incident because Oakley was one of his superiors, the station reported. He decided to file the complaint after Oakley was reelected as city commissioner.
If Oakley had not resigned, she would have only served until March, according to the Tampa Bay Times. She is not running for reelection