City lawyers filed suit Thursday asking the Circuit Court to declare Jim Fuller ineligible to seek and serve another term as Clerk of the Court in the November election and to require him to immediately withdraw his candidacy.
The complaint cites term limits. At the end of the present term, Fuller will have served three consecutive full terms as Clerk of the Court.
Fuller said early this morning he had not read the complaint and that he expects his lawyer, Rick Rumrell, to file a response.
“I knew they were going to file it. We will let the courts decide. I think that I’m right and they think I’m wrong,” he said.
The complaint asks that Fuller be prohibited from seeking re-election to the position, “and, if purportedly elected, from serving as Clerk.”
The suit names Fuller as the defendant “in his individual capacity as a candidate for Clerk in the upcoming 2012 election.”
Fuller contends he is eligible to run, according to the complaint.
The Florida Supreme Court recently ruled in a Broward County case to uphold term limits.
On Tuesday, City Council adopted a resolution to direct the Office of General Counsel, which is headed by General Counsel Cindy Laquidara, to commence litigation “to determine if Clerk of the Courts Jim Fuller is eligible to stand as a candidate for re-election to the office given the Florida Supreme Court’s recent ruling upholding locally established term limits in a Broward County case.”
The resolution was introduced by Council members John Crescimbeni and Lori Boyer.
The resolution referred to the May 10 state Supreme Court ruling that reversed a 2002 ruling that had invalidated locally initiated term limits on the office of Clerk of the Court.
“The City never repealed its term limitation in the City Charter after the original Supreme Court ruling, so the limitation still exists and General Counsel Cindy Laquidara has ruled that it applies to current office holders,” according to the Council summary of the resolution.
“Clerk of the Courts Jim Fuller has filed qualifying papers to run for a fourth term as Clerk this fall,” it said.
The resolution summary explained that Laquidara told the Council Rules Committee that if Fuller “insists that he is a qualified candidate and pursues election, a legal challenge by some party with appropriate standing will be needed to have the courts determine how the new ruling applies to current office holders.”
The summary explained that “a party with appropriate legal standing may be another qualified candidate for the office, or it might be the City acting to protect and enforce the provisions of its Charter.”
The summary said Laquidara required instructions from a client to initiate a legal challenge, “which the bill’s sponsors intend to do by this resolution.”
Supervisor of Elections Jerry Holland told the Rules Committee that the cost of a countywide election is about $900,000 and if Fuller wins re-election and is then disqualified, the cost of a special election to replace him would be about $900,000, totaling $1.8 million if a second round of voting was required.
That cost was included in the lawsuit’s allegations, saying if it was determined that Fuller was not and is not qualified for re-election this year and the City must hold the special election, “such special election is estimated to cost up to $1.8 million, with no legal avenue for recover of those costs.”
According to the complaint, Jacksonville voters approved a referendum in November 1992 to impose a two-term limit for the Clerk of the Court, with the two-term limitation applying to any full term beginning in 1992.
In 1998, former Clerk of Court Henry Cook planned to seek re-election and filed litigation challenging the referendum that imposed term limits on the Clerk of the Court.
That litigation resulted in a 2002 Florida Supreme Court decision that found the two-term limit on the Clerk of the Court in violation of the state Constitution.
In the 2012 Telli v. Broward County case, the court said “we recede from this Court’s decision in Cook v. City of Jacksonville.”
The Broward case involved term limits on the office of county commissioner and the Supreme Court held “that Broward County’s term limits do not violate Florida’s Constitution.”
A copy of the Telli opinion was attached to the City’s complaint.
Fuller said today the Broward case was dealing with county commissioners and whether or not they are constitutional officers.
“I don’t think that case applied and my attorney doesn’t think it applied,” Fuller said.
“We are going to have to figure it out,” he said.
At the Council meeting, Crescimbeni said he considered it “prudent to get clarification from the court.” He said he was “not willing to gamble” on the potential to spend money on a special election.
Rumrell told Council he was speaking on behalf of the Clerk of the Court and said it was his belief the General Counsel does not have standing.
“We don’t have $1.8 million to get it wrong,” Crescimbeni said.
Laquidara said she disagreed completely with Rumrell.
Council member Reggie Brown asked Laquidara if the term limits applied to other constitutional officers, including the sheriff, and Laquidara said yes.
The lawsuit says “the Clerk of the Court, like the Sheriff, the Tax Collector, the Property Appraiser and the Supervisor of Elections, is a constitutional officer who is also a local county government official and a part of the Consolidated Government.”
The City Charter was established through the Florida Legislature as approved by voters and it consolidated local governments as of Oct. 1, 1968.
Fuller, a Republican, is listed as one of seven qualified active candidates for the Clerk of Court. Through a link on the Supervisor of Elections website, www.duvalelections.com, information shows that Fuller has reported the highest level of monetary contributions.
Fuller reported monetary contributions of $44,190 and his Republican opponent Ronnie Fussell reported $30,341.
Democrat Bill Hodges reported $30,500 and Democrat Brenda Priestly Jackson reported $12,435.
John Winkler reported $7,000 and Averrell Thompson reported $6,881.27. Both have no party affiliation. Also qualified is write-in candidate Richard Edwin Hartley.
The primary election is Aug. 14. Early voting for the primary starts Aug. 4 and ends Aug. 11.
The general election is Nov. 6.
Supervisor of Elections Jerry Holland said Thursday night that the primary election is in 19 days and that Fuller had 20 days to respond to the complaint.
Holland said this morning he was waiting for a decision from the court and that his offer would follow the directions of the Division of Elections.
Holland said he did not have a choice in putting Fuller on the ballot.
“We were told by the Division of Elections and the General Counsel that we must put him on the ballot,” Holland said.
“I had no choice. My role was very clear. The state said I must put him on the ballot and Cindy Laquidara said I must put him on the ballot when he comes in and says he is qualified,” Holland said.
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