Orlando Lopez recall, Sweetwater, Florida (2017)
| Sweetwater Mayor recall |
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| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2017 Recalls in Florida Florida recall laws Mayoral recalls Recall reports |
An effort in Sweetwater, Florida, to recall Mayor Orlando Lopez from his position was launched in 2017. Providing Effective Government For All Residents PAC began circulation of recall papers in January 2017.[1]
Lopez filed a complaint in circuit court on March 3, 2017, seeking to invalidate the initial petition signatures. On March 24, 2017, Judge Rodney Smith ruled that the recall effort was based on a misinterpretation of the city's charter. Smith's order concluded that the city charter uses the phrase "may attend" in regards to mayoral attendance at public meetings, making meeting attendance optional rather than mandatory. On April 11, 2017, recall organizers filed an appeal to Smith's decision.[2][3] This appeal was rejected on May 3, 2017, after a district court panel agreed with Smith's ruling.[4]
Recall supporters
Recall supporters claim that Lopez raised taxes during his time in office. The PAC's mailers to city residents also argued that Lopez missed at least five council and committee meetings.[1]
Recall opponents
Lopez submitted the following statement to local media about the recall effort:
| “ |
The PAC is intentionally misinforming the voters. Only the city commission has the authority to raise taxes. I do not have that power. The millage rate was increased to 4.5 on a motion and recommendation by none other than commissioner Idania llanio, who is collecting signatures intentionally misinforming the residents. Unfortunately, this recent scandal may again affect the city and its residents financially for the incompetence of the commissioners.[1][5] |
” |
| —Orlando Lopez (2017) | ||
Lopez argued that the city's charter does not require his attendance at meetings. He also accused the city commission of working behind the scenes to organize the recall effort.[6]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Florida
On February 23, 2017, the Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections verified 1,779 signatures on the initial recall petition against Lopez. Prior to the court order, recall organizers needed to gather approximately 1,500 valid signatures to require a recall election.[6]
Recent news
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See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 CBS Miami, "Recall Effort Underway For Sweetwater’s Mayor," January 27, 2017
- ↑ Miami Herald, "Sweetwater mayor defeats recall effort in court; appeal coming," March 24, 2017
- ↑ Miami Herald, "Political committee files appeal after judge tosses effort to recall Sweetwater mayor," April 11, 2017
- ↑ Miami Herald, "Sweetwater’s mayor defeats recall effort on appeal," May 3, 2017
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Miami Herald, "Recall effort is ‘the root of all evil,’ Sweetwater mayor says," March 6, 2017
