Julia Botel recall, Riviera Beach, Florida (2022)
| Julia Botel recall |
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| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| Signature requirement |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2022 Recalls in Florida Florida recall laws City council recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall District 4 City Councilmember Julia Botel did not qualify for the ballot in Riviera Beach, Florida.[1]
Recall supporters
Recall supporters started the campaign after Botel tried to stop a beach party event, which was being organized by Black promoters, from being held on Singer Island. Botel had implied that the event had been banned in other areas and could lead to violence. Supporters alleged that Botel's opposition to the event was racially motivated.[1][2]
Resident Marvelous Washington initiated the recall process by filing a petition. She said, "Residents need to feel like they have a voice and not be afraid of retaliation."[1]
Recall opponents
Botel apologized for her comments and said she had based her opposition to the event on information from a Rivieria Beach police officer. In an interview with WPTV, Botel said, "If ... you look at what I have done, not what I say or someone else says, look at what I've done, what I plan to do going forward, and then judge me."[2]
She added, "My apology was sincere last night. I should have taken a deep breath, but when it's in the heat of the moment and you're worried about somebody, it's hard to do that."[2]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Florida
State law restricts the grounds for which officeholders can be recalled in Florida. The allowable grounds include "malfeasance, misfeasance, neglect of duty, drunkenness, incompetence, permanent inability to perform official duties, and conviction of a felony involving moral turpitude."[3]
In Florida, for a special recall election to be scheduled, organizers must conduct two rounds of signature collection. In the first round, signatures must be collected within 30 days, and the number required depends on how many voters are registered in the officeholder's jurisdiction. 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.[3]
Organizers submitted 2,400 signatures to the city clerk in August 2022.[4]
The Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Office ruled in September that the petitions were invalid because the addresses did not include the county of each signee. Elections Supervisor Wendy Sartory Link said, "If we know people are spending good time and good money to make something work, we want it to work for them. ... But we just have our hands tied. The statute and the rule are pretty clear."[5]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 WPTV, "Petition filed to recall Riviera Beach Councilmember Julia Botel," July 8, 2022
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 WPTV, "Riviera Beach Councilwoman Julia Botel says her work speaks for itself," July 8, 2022
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The 2020 Florida Statutes, "Fla. Stat. Ann §100.361," accessed August 24, 2021
- ↑ 25WPBF News, "Riviera Beach residents, city at odds over recall petition for councilwoman," August 15, 2022
- ↑ WPTV, "Effort to recall Riviera Beach council member Julia Botel stalls after ballots deemed invalid," September 14, 2022
