Residents weighed in on the ethics case against Kissimmee Mayor Jackie Espinosa on Tuesday night, with some demanding she resign and others urging the commission to let voters decide her fate.
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Espinosa did not attend the meeting due to a previously planned vacation, according to the city manager.
A court-appointed special prosecutor found probable cause that Espinosa personally benefited from a Kissimmee small-business grant program she championed, after three businesses owned by the mayor and her family received nearly $50,000 in funding. The prosecutor recommended the commission seek articles of impeachment, refer the matter to law enforcement and have the mayor repay the $50,000.
The report was only a recommendation. The commission will hear the findings at a special meeting Aug. 18 and decide then whether to file articles of impeachment against Espinosa.
Espinosa’s attorney has said “impeachment is neither legally justified nor supported by the evidence.”
Jimmy Torres, executive director of Iniciativa APM Florida, a Central Florida organization supporting the Puerto Rican and Latino diaspora, told the commission the ethics complaint against Espinosa has discouraged Puerto Rican voters in Kissimmee ahead of the Aug. 18 primary.
“It is important to protect and defend the rights of the mayor, who won the last election with the majority of the votes,” Torres said. “I want to ask … that this commission respect the decision of the people and allow the mayor to complete her term. It is up to the people to re-elect her or not. Any other condition is unjust.”
Espinosa was elected in 2024 to a four-year term.
But Stephanie Nelson said the case was about accountability, not persecution.
“This is about the constitutional duties that we have as citizens to keep check on our elected public officials,” resident Stephanie Nelson said. “It’s taxpayer money.”
The investigation into Espinosa cost the city more than $25,000, according to special prosecutor Mayanne Downs.
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Resident Lilian Evans said she hoped Espinosa would step down. “She’s not the mayor that I would want from my city of Kissimmee. I will not vote for her at her term.”
Jose Castro, who said he voted for Espinosa, agreed that she should resign. He pressed commissioners to take a stance.
“Why are you not taking a position? This is the time to make a position on something that is immoral,” he said.
But Susana Sanchez, speaking on behalf of residents she said were afraid to come forward, defended the mayor and blamed city staff for the grant process.
“She did not create the firm guidelines, did not approve the grants,” Sanchez said, adding that city departments oversaw the program. “I am disappointed that a small group appears more focused on personal hatred instead of celebrating the success and future of our city.”
Downs’ report, however, found Espinosa participated in commission actions to fund and expand the program from December 2024 to September 2025, and that she failed to disclose her personal interest.
At the end of the meeting, Commissioner Janette Martinez said the commission had not taken a position so the legal process could play out, but she called the situation “embarrassing.”
“We have to follow the law. We have to be fair. There is a process, and it’s a process that has to be followed. We’ve been advised under counsel and that’s what we’re doing. We are working diligently,” she said.
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