- November 19, 2024
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Flagler County Supervisor of Elections Kimberle Weeks says that while she’ll hold Palm Coast’s 2014 elections after threatening not to, she has no confidence the city followed proper procedure in 2011 when it changed its election dates to even years.
But the attorney for the Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections, who she consulted about the matter, does — and he told her in January that the city did nothing improper.
In a letter to the Palm Coast Observer about her March 3 announcement that she would hold city’s elections after all, Weeks wrote that she was doing so because “my concern is if (city officials) can’t follow the simple laws and rules to modify their city charter without issues being raised, how in the world would they ever be able to conduct an election that the voters could have confidence of being honest and fair?” and that by holding the election, she was “in no way saying the city met all requirements to modify their city charter following the 2011 elections.”
Weeks had challenged the city’s decision to place a referendum to change city elections from odd-numbered years to even-numbered years on the 2011 primary election ballot instead of a general election ballot or a special election ballot, and said she didn’t want to risk being held responsible for an illegal election.
But attorney Ronald Labasky, general counsel for the Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections, wrote Feb. 12 in a response to Weeks' inquiry about the 2011 referendum that “Placing the proposed amendments on the primary ballot was consistent with the (Florida Attorney General’s) Opinion,” and, “There did not need to be a separate independent election to amend the charter.”
In an earlier letter, dated Jan. 29, he wrote, “Since the city is satisfied that there are no legal issues with its election date change, I believe you are entitled to rely on what the city asserts are now the provisions in the charter and when its elections are to be undertaken,” and, “Your office would not be responsible to defend the city charter if someone chose to challenge the city’s election in 2014, pursuant to what its charter states.”
The letters were provided to the Palm Coast Observer by resident Carol Mikola, who requested them from Weeks and wrote a letter to the editor about the dispute.
Palm Coast issued a statement March 7 on Weeks’ reversal, saying, “Although we did not always agree with the supervisor of elections or understand her concerns, the city has taken many actions and has worked hard to address her concerns and issues, and we're pleased this is now moving forward in a positive direction. Going forward, the city of Palm Coast asks to be treated same as all other governmental entities included on the Flagler County ballot.”
