'Toxic Culture' Cited in Resignation of St. Petersburg, FL, Fire Rescue Spokesperson

The spokesperson for St. Petersburg Fire Rescue quit her job and sent a two-page letter to division chiefs within the department describing a “toxic culture” there.

Ashlie Handy was hired one year ago as a public information officer following former fire Chief James Large’s departure, which came after several employees had complained he fostered a toxic work environment. In her letter, Handy said she left for unrelated but similar reasons.

“Let me be clear: This decision was not impulsive, nor made without deep reflection,” Handy wrote in a letter dated May 5. “The pattern of neglect, marginalization and systemic dysfunction within this department made it hard to continue.”

“The most painful truth is this: I was set up to fail,” she wrote.

Handy said Fire Chief Keith Watts did not let her do her job as a communications professional. She said he changed her chain of command, left her out of decision making and event planning and reassigned her duties to others who bullied her.

Handy also wrote to Mayor Ken Welch May 6 about why she quit. Watts on Monday wrote a lengthy email to Welch denying the accusations and attached a dossier to back his assertion that it was Handy who was unprofessional.

A city spokesperson provided Watts’ response to a reporter and gave no additional comment.

Welch responded to Handy and said he would discuss her note with Watts and review it with the city’s legal and human resource departments. Watts wrote to the mayor that he is prepared to cooperate fully “with any fair and objective review of these matters.

“As the Fire Chief, and a leader in the community, I would never knowingly allow anyone to be bullied, treated unfairly, or otherwise inappropriately,” he said. “In the meantime, please consider the retaliation motivations behind these attacks on me and our team, as we have worked tremendously hard to build our reputations, integrity, and characters.”

Handy told the Tampa Bay Times that she had a great working relationship with former interim Chief Robert Bassett, who was in charge when she was hired. She reported directly to him and had a seat at the table when planning events and making decisions. That changed when Watts took over, she said.

“Chief Watts refused to work with me,” she wrote, explaining that he slowly reassigned her duties and gave control of messaging and communication to someone else, “and eventually distanced me entirely.”

Handy said that person, a training coordinator within the department, was a “bully” who “undermined me, cut me out of decisions, and inserted herself into my role — sometimes publicly, often cruelly — with the full knowledge of leadership.”

That training coordinator, Svetlana “Lana” Stevanovic, who is named in Handy’s letter, answered a phone call from a reporter and asked to call back in a few minutes because she was finishing up a meeting. When a reporter called back, Watts answered and said contacting employees on their personal phones was not allowed.

“At this time we do not have anything to say on this personal phone,” Watts said.

The breaking point, as Handy described it in her letter, came May 2. She set up an interview with a TV reporter about drowning prevention at a local pool. Handy said Stevanovic and another training coordinator, Alexis Lawrence, whom she said she had previously formally reported for workplace bullying, showed up. Handy said they took out cue cards for Watts to read over the reporter’s shoulder during the interview.

Handy sent her resignation letter dated that same day. Lawrence did not respond to an email seeking comment.

“That moment was deeply unprofessional and, frankly, embarrassing,” Handy wrote. “Watching that unfold, without anyone acknowledging how absurd and inappropriate it was, made one thing painfully clear: Nothing was ever going to change.”

In her email to Welch, Handy recalled how the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority hired her after the Greenlight Pinellas referendum failed. Welch, then a Pinellas County commissioner, was the agency’s chairperson.

Welch responded, thanking Handy for the information. “I am sorry that you had this experience in your role at SPFR,” he replied.

Welch forwarded Handy’s email to Watts and asked for a discussion. Watts, in response to the mayor, defended himself, Stevanovic and Lawrence. He said Handy lacked professionalism and work ethic and failed to assimilate to a professional work environment. Watts attached several meeting notes, some written by Stevanovic and Lawrence, screenshots of text messages and a timeline of interactions his staff has had with Handy.

It was not clear from what the city released whether the records were included in Handy’s personnel file or whether she had faced discipline or counseling.

Watts described how Handy had a “verbal altercation” with Stevanovic and Lawrence, which Stevanovic documented in notes attached to Watts’ email. He said there were several instances that Handy was absent and gave delayed responses to staff. He said Handy was scheduled to be disciplined for driving erratically, which he said a citizen complained about in a phone call, but the document attached shows Handy was given a warning.

Watts noted that because Handy was hired during a time of transition for the department, “Ashlie was not given professional boundaries and expectations, which would become problematic for the department.”

Asked about her decision to send the letter, Handy said: “I didn’t want someone else to come in here and think this is a dream job like I did and fight all over again.”

Handy reviewed Watts’ response and said she found several inaccuracies. The timeline Watts sent to Welch said Handy was assigned to the prevention division May 2024 and reported to Chief Ian Womack, but Handy provided the Times with an organizational chart dated that June that has her reporting directly to Bassett as fire chief.

“What I see in these documents is a coordinated effort by leadership to piece together their own timelines and recollections, versions of events that may reflect their memories, but not necessarily the full truth,” she wrote.

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