PORT RICHEY, Fla. — The Port Richey city council is set to take a step forward Tuesday after multiple scandals and the arrest of two mayors.

  • Port Richey city council seeking interim city council member 
  • Mayors Dale Massad and Terrence Rowe both recently arrested and suspended
  • City council meeting, Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. 

With Mayor Dale Massad's arrest last month, followed by his replacement Terrence Rowe's arrest on related charges, both have been suspended from office by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Now, the city council is seeking a Port Richey resident interesting in becoming an interim city council member. Any citizen accepted by the city council would serve until a special election is held in June. 

Today's meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at city hall, located at 6333 Ridge Road. Candidates will have three minutes to speak to the council.

Anyone interested must be a registered Pasco County voter and a resident of Port Richey for the past 12 months. The candidate also must have no felony charges.

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Massad was arrested on February 21 after an incident at his home where he allegedly fired a weapon at deputies and FDLE agents who were there to serve him a warrant. 

Massad is being held on no bond, charged with five counts of attempted murder along with several counts of practicing medicine without a license. Earlier this month, two new charges were added in this case for Massad reportedly attempting to solicit/conspire to obstruct an ongoing investigation and unlawful use of a two-way communication device. 

Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents arrested Rowe, 64, on March 13. He was charged with obstruction of justice, conspiracy to commit obstruction of justice, and use of a two-way communications device to facilitate the commission of a crime.

According to the agency, agents received information that Rowe was conspiring to interfere with an active criminal investigation.