Staff Reports
Jose Mallea‘s campaign on Friday said the candidate sued opponent Daniel Perez in the special Republican primary election for House District 116, saying Perez was falsely claiming residency in his campaign filing documents.
The suit, which also names Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner as a defendant, was filed in Leon Circuit Civil court.
Here’s the rest of the release:
The lawsuit asks the court to declare Perez ineligible to be a candidate for office, to decertify his candidacy, remove his name from the ballot, and refuse to certify any votes cast for him because he is not a legally qualified candidate.
“Daniel Perez’s relationship with the truth is estranged at best,” Mallea said.
“To knowingly identify an uninhabitable building with no roof as his address is the latest in his pattern of lies,” he added. “The voters of District 116 deserve a representative whose campaign and service in office begins and ends on a foundation of truth, and, unfortunately, that is not the case with Daniel Perez.”
Under Florida statutes, it is a felony punishable by imprisonment to file a false sworn statement in connection with an election. Perez knowingly filed a sworn statement listing an address inside House District 116, but no habitable residence exists at the address.
Despite the requirement that state representatives live in the district from which they are elected, Perez has publicly stated that he does not live at the address on his filing documents and does not know if he will live there at the time of the election.
Updated 3:15 p.m. — The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Karen Gievers. A copy of the filed complaint is below.
