Lawsuit filed against Manatee County Supervisor of Elections over school board seat spat

Former School Board of Manatee County Chair James Golden has filed a lawsuit against Supervisor of Elections James Satcher for being turned away when he tried to qualify for a school board seat that will be vacated this year.

Golden has filed a writ of mandamus against Satcher to place the school board seat that will be left vacant by Florida House District 72 candidate Richard Tatem on the November election ballot, rather than allow Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to name an appointee to serve out the remaining two years of his term.

He told the Herald-Tribune he hopes a circuit court judge requires that the seat be added to the ballot.

"I think that in a democratic republic, in the end, what makes us strongest is that each of us has the possibility to participate in the direction that we would like to see our country go," Golden said. "I oppose anything that suppresses that."

In case you missed it: Richard Tatem's School Board of Manatee seat to be filled by appointment upon resignation

Golden files lawsuit against Manatee County Supervisor of Elections

Golden is among those who believe the seat should be filled during the 2024 general election because Tatem tendered his resignation in May. Golden served one term on the school board, including a stint as board Chairman, and previously served two terms on the Bradenton City Council.

Tatem tendered an official resignation from the District 5 school board seat on May 30 as required by law to run for state office, indicating he will officially resign on Nov. 5. However, the discrepancy between the filing date and official resignation date has raised questions about how the seat should be filled.

According to the state constitution, if a seat is vacated early with 28 months or left in a term then the seat shall be filled during the next general election. If the remainder of the term is less than 28 months, then the seat would be filled through appointment by the governor's office.

Satcher issued a statement on June 11 indicating that Florida's Resign to Run law was amended in 2021 to clarify that an office is deemed vacant upon the effective date indicated in the resignation, and not the date it is tendered. He argues that his resignation should be calculated from the November date, meaning that DeSantis would make an appointment to fill the seat for the remaining 2 years of Tatem's term.

The lawsuit, filed on Friday, states that Golden was turned away when he tried to file to run for the District 5 seat last week and claims that Satcher erred in the decision to not add the seat to races listed on the primary ballot. Still, Golden submitted all qualifying paperwork via certified mail in an attempt to qualify and confirmed the paperwork was received on June 13 — a day before the qualifying period for candidates ended.

"Rev. Golden has qualified for the 2024 election for District 5 within the time prescribed by law or otherwise has done everything he could do to attempt to qualify," the lawsuit states. "Only the supervisor's unconstitutional and illegal refusal to accept his qualifying paperwork has prevented Rev. Golden from qualifying for that office."

Advocates call for election to fill school board vacancy left by Tatem

Golden is not alone. The League of Women Voters of Manatee County called for the seat to be placed on the ballot since at least May 7.

On June 13, the Manatee County Democratic Party joined a growing list of locals who are calling for Tatem’s seat to be filled with an election rather than appointment by the Republican governor.

“There are serious concerns that the SOE is acting unethically, and potentially unlawfully, by not allowing the required special election,” the Democratic Party stated. “The SOE must correct this disenfranchisement and restore faith in our electoral process. The rights of our voters are paramount, and any attempt to undermine these rights must be addressed with the utmost seriousness.”

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Lawsuit filed against Manatee County Supervisor of Elections