Kissimmee commissioners will decide today whether to move forward with articles of impeachment against Mayor Jackie Espinosa, a step that could see the first-term elected leader removed from office.
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A special prosecutor recommended the commission pursue articles of impeachment after her investigation found probable cause that over $50,000 in pandemic relief grants wrongly went to Espinosa’s family businesses.
The special meeting, set for 5 p.m. at city hall, is the first formal step in the city’s impeachment process. Court-appointed special prosecutor Mayanne Downs is expected to read her findings into the record and file articles of impeachment. If the four commissioners vote to proceed, they would later preside over a trial to decide Espinosa’s fate. If they don’t, the city’s investigation into the matter could end.
Espinosa has denied wrongdoing and, through her attorney, has mounted an aggressive defense. In an objection to Downs’ report filed July 29, they urged commissioners to dismiss the counts, halt the proceedings and disqualify Downs from any further role.
“Impeachment and removal of an elected mayor are extraordinary acts that displace not only the officeholder but the electorate’s choice,” her lawyer wrote in the objection.
Downs found probable cause July 23 that Espinosa, elected in 2024, violated city ethics codes by taking part in official actions to fund and expand a small-business grant program while three businesses tied to her and her family collected money from it. She recommended the city seek articles of impeachment, refer the case to law enforcement and require Espinosa to repay the money.
“Public office is a trust, not a trough. The program was created to help Kissimmee’s small businesses survive a pandemic, not to enrich the official who controlled it,” Downs wrote in the report.
The grants came through Business Boost 2.0, a program funded by federal pandemic money and championed by Espinosa in her first year in office.
According to Downs’ report, Adanse LLC, wholly owned by Espinosa, received $20,000. Kissimmee Diner Inc., registered under Espinosa, received $15,000. The Real Estate Gallery LLC, registered under her husband, received $15,000.
Espinosa, who spoke with Downs during the investigation, did not deny that the three businesses received the money, and she also acknowledged the payments in a May interview with the Orlando Sentinel, arguing then that the federal dollars that paid for the program were available before she was mayor.
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It is not clear whether Espinosa or her lawyers will present their objections to the Downs’ report at today’s special meeting. Neither Espinosa or her attorney, Migdalia Perez, responded to comments before publication.
The same grants are also the subject of a separate complaint before the Florida Commission on Ethics. That complaint is set for a probable cause hearing Aug. 28, according to documents reviewed by the Orlando Sentinel. At that stage, the commission discusses the results of its preliminary investigation.
Espinosa has contended that the ethics commission, not the city, is the proper venue for the investigation. Her attorney petitioned the Sixth District Court of Appeal to stop Downs’ investigation, arguing the state had authority over the ethics matter. But the court denied Espinosa’s petition, and so both the special prosecutor and the state commission investigated, with both efforts now moving forward.
Ahead of today’s meeting, flyers reproducing news headlines about the case — under the banner “Kissimmee is a laughingstock” — have been hung around some city apartment complexes, urging residents to attend the meeting and “hold Jackie Espinosa accountable,” according to photos of the flyers obtained by the Sentinel.
The meeting would be only the second impeachment proceeding in the city’s history.
In 1995, then-Mayor John Pollet was suspended amid an investigation into whether he improperly solicited and accepted gifts — including Orlando Magic tickets — from companies that held contracts with the city.
As with Espinosa, Pollet’s case ran on two tracks at once. The city hired a retired state attorney to investigate locally, while the state commission pursued its own case in Tallahassee.
Both proceedings went against him. A state administrative law judge concluded in 1996 that Pollet violated Florida’s gift law and recommended a civil penalty and public censure. Locally, he was impeached after nearly a year of fighting the charges.
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