Reader Accuses Mayor Eugene Flinn of Campaign Law Violation
Palmetto Bay Mayor could be Disqualified from Commission Race
Miami-Dade County resident, Rolando Castillo, submitted the following letter regarding speculation that Palmetto Bay Mayor Eugene P. Flinn Jr. failed to resign as required by state law, to run for a Miami-Dade Commission seat.
Subsequent to Mr. Castillo’s request of an examination by news media, an investigation is now under way by CBS4′s I-Team: http://cbs4.com/local/eugene.flinn.commission.2.1865056.html
According to CBS4 reporter David Sutta, “It appears the Mayor may have forgotten to follow the law and may be disqualified in his race for County commissioner.“
Here is Mr. Castillo’s letter:
——————–
Saturday, August 14, 2010
“Dear ‘Eye on Palmetto Bay:’
As a concerned citizen and informed voter, I am very disappointed that the news
media has failed to investigate the issue that Palmetto Bay Mayor Eugene Flinn
DID NOT follow the law by resigning his term-limited mayoral post before he
officially entered the race for the Miami-Dade County Commission in District 8.
As you know, the “Resign to Run” law is designed to prevent a current office
holder from seeking another elected or appointed post while holding his/her
current position.
Mayor Flinn, who is a reputable attorney, knows the law well enough to know that
he should have followed the law and resigned his mayoral post 10 days before
qualifying for the County Commission race.
I have personally searched the Florida Department of State and the local
Election Department’s web sites and even checked with Palmetto Bay Village
Clerk, Meighan Alexander. But to date, there is not a single piece of evidence
to indicate that Mayor Flinn complied with the required state law before he
entered the Commission race.
If Mr. Flinn is able to garner 50% + 1 of the total votes cast in the Primary
Election of August 24th, it is my understanding that there would be no need to
conduct a Run-Off Election in November. Mr. Flinn, then, becomes County
Commissioner-Elect on August 24th and would be sworn-in at the next regular
County Commission meeting in September and not have to wait until November to
take office. This is approximately 2 months before his current term as Mayor of
the Village of Palmetto Bay expires in November of 2010.
Given the aforementioned circumstances, I strongly believe that Mayor Flinn has
failed, either by neglect or design, to comply with the Florida “Resign to Run”
law and, therefore, must be disqualified from this election to the Miami-Dade
County Commission.
And as it turns out, Mayor Flinn has a history of ignoring the law. Just last
year, the editor of AMBIENTE Magazine took Mayor Flinn to task for using the
official Village of Palmetto Bay governmental Seal in his campaign materials
while he was running for the State House of Representatives.
In the case of Eugene Flinn, is his failure to follow the law simply ignorance
or plain arrogance?
We all demand transparency and accountability in our government and our
citizenry must be completely informed of all the facts and issues surrounding
their prospective elected officials before making an informed decision on
election day.
We also depend on the news media for keeping us informed on the issues of the
day and on the actions and/or lack of actions from our elected officials.
Can we expect this reputable news organization to do its renowned investigative
reporting on this case?
I would really appreciate a response to this letter. Thank You.
Sincerely,
Rolando ‘Roly’ Castillo “
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The court found that Flinn was not required to resign his office as mayor because the two terms did not overlap.