Nice To See You Again Judge. Uh, Can We Get To That Ruling Now?

Last Friday we were discussing the recall appeal and intimated HERE that “any number of different scenarios could play out between now and next Friday so check back here often for updates.” Well, it didn’t take anywhere near that long.

In the wake of the certification of the second round of recall signatures by Supervisor of Elections Bob Sweat last Friday, Attorney Richard Harrison today filed an expected Amended Complaint seeking Judge Nicholas’ order invalidating the recall petition. You can read it by clicking HERE but it essentially re-argues the numerous reasons why the petition is simply legal nonsense and that the second round of signatures did nothing but delay that reality. The exhibits to the Amended Complaint can be found by clicking HERE. Due to the clock now ticking on the date of a recall election, Harrison has also, again, asked for an expedited hearing on the matter as is mandated by Florida law. You can read that motion by clicking HERE.

Remember, Judge Nicholas pointedly stated in his May 26th order HERE that he would address the validity of the petition “after, and only if” the recall committee were successful in obtaining a second round of signatures. That has now happened so expect a hearing soon.

So what about the recall appeal? An argument could be made that the primary issue ripe for appeal, that is whether Judge Nicholas was correct in waiting until after the second round of signatures to rule the petition facially invalid, is now moot since it is back in his lap and he can rule post haste anyway. Technically though, the Second District retains jurisdiction over the issues remaining before it. The recallers’ reply brief is due in four days and the Court could then rule on the matter and determine themselves as a matter of law that the recall petition simply fails to meet the basic requirements of law. We’ll keep you posted.

And we can't sign off without pointing out the puzzling public pronouncements from the recall camp regarding Commissioner Stoltzfus "hiding" and "avoiding" being served with the certification of signatures. Florida law requires "notice" of the signature certification to the recall target. It does not, as the pro bono recallers would have you believe, require service of process by a licensed process server lurking behind the hedge to catch the target unaware while yelling "Gotcha!" It simply requires that City Clerk Alice Baird notify him of the certification (which she dutifully did at 11:16a.m. Friday morning) and the clock starts ticking. The entirety of City Hall and much of the City is fully aware that the commissioner is on a long planned family vacation, one he and many others take this time of year every year, and will not return for several weeks. The usual suspects chimed in with the expected juvenile pablum but even Ricinda Perry, Bradenton Beach City Attorney and PAR spin-meister extraordinaire, waded into the muck. At 3:19 p.m. Friday (4 hours after he was lawfully notified by Ms. Baird) Perry thought it would be appropriate to log onto Facebook and say she had (and I quote her directly) "heard that Stoltzfus is trying to avoid service of the petition." Really Ricinda? From whom? Certainly not from Alice Baird or anyone at City Hall, the legal entity that had already notified him. Come on, you're better than that and the good people of Bradenton Beach deserve better than that from their city attorney. Say what you want about Jim Dye, but you won't find him spouting recklessly false middle school level nonsense about public officials in public, regardless of his personal feelings. Unbelievable, really.

Bill Yanger