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City commission recall, Madeira Beach, Florida (2018)
| Madeira Beach City Commissioner recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Nancy Oakley |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2018 Recalls in Florida Florida recall laws City official recalls Recall reports |
Madeira Beach City Commissioners John Douthirt and Nancy Oakley faced a recall effort over their May 2017 vote to appoint Walter Pierce as the city's budget director. Recall organizer Robert Preston argued that the commission was not empowered by the city charter to appoint the budget director. Douthirt countered the city commission acted to appoint the budget director because the city manager was suspended at the time of the vacancy. Douthirt and Oakley were elected in March 2017.[1][2] The first round of signatures were verified by the county election supervisor, requiring a second round of signatures to trigger an election.[3]
The recall election was initially scheduled for April 17, 2018. On April 4, 2018, 6th District Circuit Court Judge George M. Jirotka ruled that there was no malfeasance in the vote to appoint Pierce. Jirotka's decision cancelled the April 17 election.[4]
Recall supporters
Recall supporters cited the Madeira Beach charter, which allows the commission to appoint the city manager, city clerk, and city attorney. The charter limits appointment of all other city officials to the city manager or designated officials in the city manager's office. The recall petitions against Douthirt and Oakley argue that they committed malfeasance by violating the city charter.[1]
Recall opponents
Douthirt and Oakley responded to the effort by arguing that the city attorney provided guidance prior to their appointment of a budget director.[3]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Florida
Preston had to gather approximately 330 signatures from registered voters to advance initial petitions against both officials. The deadline for signature delivery on the initial petition was November 11, 2017. Organizers submitted 480 signatures for the Oakley recall and 469 signatures for the Douthirt recall.[2] The second petition required that recall supporters submit 496 valid signatures for each official to trigger a recall election.[3]
In November 2017, City Attorney Erica Augello issued a legal opinion that concluded the recall effort against Douthirt and Oakley was invalid because the rationale for recall did not meet legal requirements. She said that the city commission should consider her opinion before scheduling an election if the petition effort is successful. Augello's opinion included the following statement:
| “ |
In my opinion, the commission in no way usurped the power of the city manager to hire and appoint a budget director, as no provision of the charter or any ordinance provides for the city manager to hire a budget director. No express provision of the charter or any law of the city or state was violated in the commission appointing a budget director.[5][6] |
” |
| —Erica Augello (2017) | ||
The recall election was initially scheduled for April 17, 2018. On April 4, 6th District Circuit Court Judge George Jirotka ruled that there was no malfeasance in the vote to appoint Pierce. Jirotka's decision cancelled the April 17 election.[4]
Recent news
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See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Tampa Bay Times, "Recall petition targets two Madeira Beach commissioners," October 20, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Bay News 9, "Recall petition filed against 2 Madeira Beach commissioners," November 8, 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Tampa Bay Times, "Madeira Beach recall battle continues as commissioners respond," December 7, 2017
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Tampa Bay Weekly, "Recall election is off in Madeira Beach after judge's ruling," April 5, 2018
- ↑ Tampa Bay Newspapers, "Madeira Beach recall petitions ‘not legally sufficient,’ city attorney says," November 22, 2017
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
