The responses continue to be filed in former Anna Maria Commissioner Harry Stoltzfus’ appeal of his Sept. 7 recall, but conclusion of the case may be in sight.
Attorney Andrea Flynn Mogensen, representing Citizens for Sunshine Inc., a transparency in government watchdog organization, filed a response Oct. 27 with the Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal. That response answered Stoltzfus’ Oct. 18 motion to strike the CFS Oct. 14 intervenor’s response to the court.
Mogensen filed the CFS Oct. 14 intervenor response in reply to Stoltzfus’ Oct. 7 response to the DCA’s Sept. 16 order to “show cause” why his appeal of the recall should not be dismissed.
The request from the court came with the order to certify the Sept. 7 vote that resulted in removal of Stoltzfus from office.
Stoltzfus maintains that, under Florida law, CFS has no legal standing in his case, and the CFS response should be stricken from the record.
CFS next asked the appeal court to dismiss Stoltzfus’ motion to strike.
A spokesperson for the DCA in Lakeland said the court did not request further response from Stoltzfus.
The Stoltzfus appeal is now with the judges.
“It’s gone back to the court for a decision,” the spokesperson said. “It’s not on the calendar, so I don’t know when a decision will be reached. It could be tomorrow, it could be some time in the future.”
Stoltzfus’ recall began in March following a public records request that resulted in the release of more than 1,200 of Stoltzfus’ personal e-mails pertaining to government business.
The contents of those e-mails prompted Anna Maria resident Bob Carter to form a Recall Commissioner Stoltzfus Committee and proceed through the various legal steps required to remove Stoltzfus from office.
The committee’s two recall petitions were eventually accepted by the circuit court as legally sufficient and a recall election was ordered to be held Sept. 7.
On the same ballot, voters would cast a vote for one of the two qualified candidates to succeed Stoltzfus. Both Stoltzfus and Aubry qualified for the commission seat.
Stoltzfus was recalled, 362-333, while Aubry won the seat, 363-333.