Questions about termination of Fort Myers city staff member

The person tasked with providing information to the public for an entire city has been fired.

WINK News told you here first, on Wednesday, that the city of Fort Myers fired its public information officer Liz Bello-Matthews.

At the same time, an open letter calling for the job ousting of the Fort Myers city manager Marty Lawing and Assistant City Manager John Lege is making its way around, accusing them of being racist and misogynistic. 

Most of the city’s key players remain tight-lipped. The city manager said in an email that he won’t be discussing the matter at this time. None of the six council members responded to requests for an interview.

But Bello-Matthews answered a call Thursday morning, and Mayor Anderson responded to accusations against the city.

Wednesday, Liz Bello-Matthews’s job as the city of Fort Myers communications and public affairs director was stripped away after multiple city council members, including Fort Myers Mayor Kevin Anderson, confirmed that the city fired Bello-Matthews, offering no hint as to why.

“Are you able to say why Liz Bello-Matthews was fired?” asked WINK News anchor Emma Heaton.

“I’m not at liberty. First of all, I do not know all the particulars,” responded Mayor Anderson.

City of Fort Myers Mayor Kevin Anderson said by phone Thursday he must have confidence that city manager Marty Lawing, who is responsible for the hiring and firing of city staff, had justification to fire Bello-Matthews.

The same city manager was accused of discrimination against females and minorities. The accusations were found in an anonymous letter sent last week to city council. The letter also called for the ousting of Lawing and Assistant City Manager John Lege.

“If I had a remote feeling that he had an issue with minorities and females, I’d be leading the charge to get to the bottom of it and take the appropriate action,” said Mayor Anderson.

Bello-Matthews declined an on-camera interview under her attorney’s direction but said by phone Thursday that she’s been raising her hand about the way the city treats minorities and women in the city.

When asked if she was the anonymous person to write the letter, Bello-Matthews said no, but that she was, “asked how to articulate certain items on the letter.”

“If you look at the six people he has hired, he being city manager, two of the six were female. Three of the six were minority. So to me, there’s a there’s a track record that doesn’t say there’s a problem with females and minorities,” said Mayor Anderson.

Mayor Anderson said if an employee was disciplined at any level, including termination, and feels the action was wrong, there is a grievance process, which he said is not in the media, and battling it out on cameras is not an option.