Forrest Gibbs Files Suit Against 3 County Commissioners

December 30, 2011

The man hired then fired amid controversy as the manager of the Escambia County Equestrian Center has filed suit against three Escambia County commissioners.

Forrest Gibbs held the job for about two weeks in October until being fired by County Administrator Randy Oliver following a complaint that Commissioner Wilson Robertson influenced his hiring and landed Gibbs a salary higher than was advertised.  The commission, including Robertson, called for a state investigation into the process. The State Attorney found no wrongdoing.

Now, Gibbs has filed suit in Escambia County Circuit Court against Commissioners Kevin White, Marie Young and Grover Robinson claiming that he was qualified and they improperly removed him from his new job. The suit does not name Escambia County as a defendant.  Gene Valentino, who was not at a county meeting in which the board considered the matter, is also not being sued.

Gibbs is seeking unnamed damages in excess of $15,000 plus legal and court costs from White, Young and Robinson.

The job was advertised again with a selection committee slated to choose the new manager. Gibbs is one of seven finalists on the new short list for the job.

Comments

15 Responses to “Forrest Gibbs Files Suit Against 3 County Commissioners”

  1. David Huie Green on January 3rd, 2012 6:52 pm

    I like Wilson Robertson. Don’t think his actions here were the best, but I like his attitude toward the people, he intends to serve the people rather than lord over them.

  2. charlie w. on December 31st, 2011 9:17 am

    If Escambia county threw robertson away, and Santa Rosa county threw cole away we would be arrested for littering. Both are worthless!

  3. Jane on December 30th, 2011 6:54 pm

    Let’s see, we have elections coming up…if you don’t like our county commissioners, vote them out!

  4. not suprised on December 30th, 2011 5:28 pm

    Forrest “GIBBS” are we suprised at any of this? !!!!!!!

  5. Cheryl on December 30th, 2011 1:43 pm

    Forrest Gibbs is now one of 7 finalists still being considered for the job! Unbelievable!
    I think Wilson is sitting back laughing along with his buddy, Forrest. Hope they’re not laughing for much longer.

  6. David Huie Green on December 30th, 2011 12:04 pm

    He was fired for nothing he had personally done wrong. Makes sense to me.

    David for good decisions
    to begin with, not bad ones afterward

  7. juju1962 on December 30th, 2011 9:16 am

    let me see…he is suing the commissioners for doing what they should have never let happen in the first place because he was not qualified for the job…now they re-advertised the position and changed the job description..so that people like me arenot not qualified ..yes I have a BSBA in Hospitality and Tourism and 30 years of marketing….and now he is in the top 7 that have been pulled for the position..he still is not qualified but is in the mix…and now he is suing the commissioners who will have to be defended on tax payers dollars because they were doing work for the county at the time….seems like the Gibbs family just like making money off the county tax payers…we buy the garbage collections service…they have ties with roads inc…and they county only uses roads inc..which is fishy…they make money off the Tate FFA and hide the funds from the rodeo….when are we going to say enough is enough

  8. Kathy on December 30th, 2011 9:03 am

    It is a right to work state, unless discriminated against, he should get nothing. That is what you get when you use political power to hire friends. He should be trying to sue Wilson Robertson for sticking his nose where it didn’t belong. Notice he isn’t trying to sue the county just the three Commissioners. Bitter, mean, nasty old man he is.

  9. tlad on December 30th, 2011 7:52 am

    I am disappointed that our County Board, 3 years ago, agreed to post this job paying well over $65K without any formal education requirement. What a slap in the face of our wonderful local colleges and to all those who sacrifice their time and effort in order to obtain a higher education in order to make the bigger bucks! What a pitiful display of local government.

  10. stupied on December 30th, 2011 7:31 am

    POSTED ON FACEBOOK TODAY——– YOU CANT FIX STUPIED BUT YOU CAN VOTE IT OUT……………

  11. molino jim on December 30th, 2011 7:18 am

    THANKS WILSON

  12. stupied on December 30th, 2011 6:02 am

    wilson roberson ,you and gibbs should be in business together in another state.another person wanting money for nothing.they were buddies thats the reason the money got put up more than the job was worth.the commissioners stood by and done nothing.if he applies again he will probably get it. it all goes back to people pay taxes and has no say so where it goes.i see why people are moving to another state.the poor county workers cant even get a raise because of people like this.city employees got a bonus for xmas and what did county workers get.nothing.they dont get credit for nothing.shame on you commissions for letting all this happen.tax payers you need to stand up and clean house when it comes to voting again.look around people at the houses that are foreclosed around here.atleast 6000 or more.they need to worry about creating jobs instead of paying high price jobs for escambia county management.county administrator he aint no better either to alow this to happen.micheal weaver you said a mouth full to.speak out people or this county is headed for broke.ever wonder where you tax money is going????????????????

  13. c.w. on December 30th, 2011 5:31 am

    This gibbs job thing is robertsons game, let him pay for any mistakes that were made.
    WR should be didmissed from the CC and a decent replacement installed. Robertson and his good ole boy deals are a drain on the tax payers and needs to stop, NOW!
    Robertson has to go. Vote him out.

  14. idunno on December 30th, 2011 1:17 am

    ditto ……..Mr. Weaver!!!

  15. MICHAEL WEAVER on December 30th, 2011 1:05 am

    PLEASE TELL ME THAT YOU’RE JOKING. THE COUNTY HAS PAID OUT ENOUGH OF OUR TAX DOLLARS ON SILLINESS LIKE THIS . THE GIBBS FAMILY HAS LONG BEEN IN THE POCKETS OF TAX PAYERS AND NOW FORREST IS DIGGING DEEPER. WILSON ROBERTSON SHOULD HAVE BEEN REMOVED FROM THE COMMISSION WHEN HE GAVE THE OVERPAID JOB TO GIBBS. THAT IS NOT THE PROPER WAY TO DO COUNTY BUSINESS. HOW COULD THE STATE FIND NO WRONGDOING? PLEASE . THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS HAVE NOT DONE ANYTHING THAT WARRANTS SPENDING OUR TAX DOLLARS ON TO DEFEND. AND NOW GIBBS IS IN THE RUNNING AGAIN FOR THE JOB? IT’S LIKE A CARTOON STRIP AROUND HERE. WE NEED HONEST AND CLEAR LEADERSHIP IN OUR GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS. MR.WHITE , PLEASE TAKE A STAND AGAINST THIS .

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News