- December 4, 2025
A court hearing determining the legitimacy of Councilman Charles Gambaro's appointment to the Palm Coast City Council District 4 seat will be held on July 3.
Palm Coast Mayor Mike Norris and his attorney Anthony Sabatini filed a lawsuit on May 5 that alleged Gambaro's appointment to the District 4 seat was illegal. The lawsuit lists Palm Coast, the Flagler County Supervisor of Elections and Gambaro as defendants.
The hearing is set 3:15 p.m. at the Kim C. Hammond Justice Center and Circuit Judge Christopher France is presiding over the case.
According to court documents, Norris is seeking a “writ of quo warranto” to remove Gambaro from office, a court declaration that Gambaro’s District 4 seat is vacant, an order compelling a special election be held and an injunction preventing Gambaro from further occupying the seat.
Sabatini also filed an emergency motion demanding Gambaro and Palm Coast show what legal cause there is for Gambaro to hold the District 4 seat. The motion states that the charter requires the seat have been filled during the Nov. 5, 2024 election and that Gambaro should be removed from office.
On May 14, France has ordered the defendants to respond to the emergency motion within 15 days, by the end of May, and show why the relief Norris requested should not be granted.
Gambaro could not be reached for comment ahead of this story's publication.
The July 3 hearing will be the final hearing held on the matter, according to the court documents.
In a post on his Facebook page, Norris said the date and the May 14 order from France were a "huge win for the people of Palm Coast."
"We are confident given the responses from the judge that on July 4th 2025, the un-elected and illegitimate Gambaro will be removed from the council," the post said.
Palm Coast's Communications & Marketing Director Brittany Kershaw said the city does not have a comment on the litigation.
Typically, the City Council will hold executive sessions known as "shade meetings" that are closed to the public to discuss active litigation against the city.
Kershaw said the council does not have any scheduled yet to discuss Norris' case against the city and Gambaro. As Norris is the adversarial party suing the city, he will not be included in these meetings.
