- June 17, 2026
Dear Editor:
As a “post-mortem” to the long running controversy and mystery regarding Mayor Mike Norris’ claim that he was bribed by a real estate developer, the takeaway is that our mayor had a very poor understanding of what constitutes a bribe.
In reviewing the final report from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which Norris referred the matter to back in June of last year, and is now public record, it seems there was nothing for the assigned investigators to work with from the beginning.
Their report quoted Norris, which was his interpretation of bribery, as saying that during a visit with the developer in January 2025 “Paul Rice (a Rayonier executive) made a statement that Rayonier would support him in his tenure as mayor and in the duration of his next election.”
Rayonier, is a westside Palm Coast land owner interested in development in that area. The investigative report importantly clarified that “no goods, services or funds were promised or exchanged.” And there was no mention of investigators even interviewing Mr. Rice. Offering nothing more than support clearly does not rise to the level of bribery. And the FDLE investigators agreed and concluded no evidence of criminality exists.
We have to wonder what Mr. Rice is thinking now that his name officially appears in the public record and who in essence was accused of bribery by the mayor of Palm Coast.
Bob Gordon
Palm Coast
