Henry Rosenthal recall, Islamorada, Florida (2023)
| Henry Rosenthal recall |
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| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| Signature requirement |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2023 Recalls in Florida Florida recall laws City council recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Seat 4 Village Councilman Henry Rosenthal did not go to a vote in Islamorada, Florida.[1][2]
Recall supporters
Recall organizers alleged that Rosenthal asked the village's planning director to ask the rest of the council how they planned to vote on an amendment he needed for a project to open a theater and entertainment venue in the village, which violated "Section 5(12) of the village charter (malfeasance), as well as Florida’s Government in Sunshine laws, Florida’s code of ethics for public officers and employees for misuse of public position and article 2 of Florida’s constitution related to breach of public trust and abuse of public position" according to the recall petition.[1]
Islamorada resident and former candidate for Seat 4 of the village council Casey Watkins served as the chairman of the recall committee, with Megan Scallan and Joseph Campbell serving as officers.[1][3]
Former Seat 4 Councilwoman Deb Gillis filed a separate ethics complaint against Rosenthal that alleged he "[directed] staff to call other council members on his behalf.” She said she supported the recall effort.[3]
Recall opponents
Regarding the recall effort, Rosenthal has said, “One never knows what motivates people to do what they do. Ultimately, the truth will prevail.”[3]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Florida
Florida allows the following grounds for recall: malfeasance, misfeasance, neglect of duty, drunkenness, incompetence, permanent inability to perform official duties, and conviction of a felony involving moral turpitude.[4]
From the time that the recall petition is approved for circulation, signatures must be collected within 30 days. The number of signatures required depends on the number of registered voters in the jurisdiction. A minimum of 50 signatures are required in jurisdictions with fewer than 500 registered voters. In jurisdictions with 500 to 24,999 registered voters, a minimum of 100 to 1,000 signatures are required, or 10% of registered voters, whichever is higher. In jurisdictions with 25,000 or more registered voters, the number of signatures required is 1,000 or 5% of registered voters, whichever is higher.[5] The officeholder then has a chance to file a defensive statement. In the second round of signature collection, organizers have 60 days to collect signatures equal to 15% of registered voters from the officeholder's district.[5]
Recall organizers would have needed to collect signatures from 10% of registered voters in Islamorada, or approximately 532 signatures.[3]
Organizers have said they decided not to pursue the recall effort because of the cost of holding a recall election. Watkins said, “We decided that it was not fiscally responsible on our part to ask this of our village and, most importantly, its residents."[2]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Keys Weekly, "PETITION CIRCULATING TO RECALL ISLAMORADA COUNCILMAN HENRY ROSENTHAL ON MALFEASANCE," August 31, 2023
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Keys Weekly, "RECALL AGAINST AN ISLAMORADA COUNCILMAN ENDS DUE TO EXPENSE, PER COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN," October 27, 2023
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Key West Citizen, "Group seeks to oust Rosenthal," accessed September 6, 2023
- ↑ The 2023 Florida Statutes, "100.361 Municipal recall." accessed October 16, 2023
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 The 2020 Florida Statutes, "Fla. Stat. Ann §100.361," accessed August 24, 2021
