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Vince Lago recall, Coral Gables, Florida (2024)
| Vince Lago recall |
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| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| Signature requirement |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2024 Recalls in Florida Florida recall laws Mayoral recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Mayor Vince Lago did not go to a vote in Coral Gables, Florida. Recall organizers failed to submit enough valid signatures to put the recall on the ballot.[1]
Lago was elected as mayor of Coral Gables in 2021, earning 58% of the vote.[2] He was re-elected without opposition in 2023.
Recall supporters
The recall effort was organized by a committee called End the Corruption. Petitions accuse Lago of misfeasance and malfeasance in response to two articles about Lago's business dealings with developer Rishi Kapoor. Miami Herald reported that Lago rented space to Kapoor across from a development site where Kapoor's company planned a luxury condo tower. The second report showed that Lago joined a brokerage that profited from the sale of that property. Lago recused himself of votes dealing with Kapoor's projects. Recall organizers accused Lago of aligning with developers after having previously criticized them.[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]
On April 12, 2024, recall organizers submitted 1,719 signatures to the Coral Gables city clerk.[6] At least 1,608 valid signatures were required to put the recall on the ballot. Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections Christina White found 1,533 signatures valid.[1]
Recall context
- See also: Ballotpedia's Recall Report
Ballotpedia covers recall efforts across the country for all state and local elected offices. A recall effort is considered official if the petitioning party has filed an official form, such as a notice of intent to recall, with the relevant election agency.
The chart below shows how many officials were included in recall efforts from 2012 to 2024 as well as how many of them defeated recall elections to stay in office and how many were removed from office in recall elections.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Florida Politics, "Effort to recall Vince Lago as Coral Gables Mayor fails," April 29, 2024
- ↑ Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections, "2021 Certified," accessed April 1, 2024
- ↑ Miami Herald, "Advocates begin recall effort for Coral Gables mayor: ‘We have to take the city back’," March 13, 2024
- ↑ 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
- ↑ Miami Herald, "Coral Gables mayor recall group says it has enough signatures to advance to next stage," April 12, 2024
