Two Miami-Dade County elected officials facing recall petitions have now filed suits in an attempt to stop their recall elections.
The Miami-Dade County Commission has set March 15 for the election in which voters can choose to keep, or eject, Mayor Carlos Alvarez and Commissioner Natacha Seijas.
Seijas’ recall petition was sponsored by a political action committee called Miami Voice, which took aim at recalling the five commissioners who approved the current budget.
The PAC cited the commissioners for approving a 14% property tax increase to support the budget of Florida’s largest county. The budget also included wage increases for many employees, including top-level managers. They obtained the necessary signatures in Seijas’ district first but plan to circulate petitions seeking the recall of four other commissioners.
Seijas filed a lawsuit Jan. 4 challenging the validity of many petition signers. A hearing was held Tuesday but the judge has not ruled.
Alvarez filed a separate suit Feb. 4 claiming many of the petitions approved to support his recall are invalid, according to the Miami Herald.
The mayor was targeted for recall by billionaire car dealer Norman Braman, who is president of a PAC called People Who Want Honest Government Inc. Braman, too, complained about rising taxes in the latest budget supported by Alvarez.
Braman collected his own petitions seeking Alvarez’s recall.
The legal challenges are expected to be resolved soon since absentee ballots go out Feb. 21 and early voting begins Feb. 28.
