Jacob Ogles
A former Manatee County School Board member wants appellate Judges to require a Special Election for an opening Board seat.
Former Manatee School Board member James Golden sued the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections for failing to schedule an election to fill outgoing School Board member Rich Tatem’s seat. Florida’s resign-to-run law required Tatem to give up his seat when he filed for House District 72, but his resignation from the School Board doesn’t take effect until the start of the House term he seeks, the day after the election.
While the county requires a Special Election to fill out a School Board term if a member resigns more than 28 months from the end of their term, the late effective date means Tatem will serve until that window closes.
Manatee County Supervisor of Elections James Satcher said a change in state law makes it clear that Gov. Ron DeSantis can appoint a replacement for Tatem in November to serve out the term.
“The Supervisor has refused to perform his mandatory duty to hold an election to fill a vacancy on the Manatee County School Board District 5, as the Florida Constitution and Statutes require, and has refused to qualify candidates for this constitutionally and statutorily mandated election,” Golden’s lawsuit states.
Tatem unseated Golden from the District 5 seat on the School Board in 2022.
But Circuit Court Judge Ryan Felix on July 3 dismissed the case, agreeing with Satcher.
Felix notes that even Golden’s lawsuit had to acknowledge that the School Board seat is not vacant and will not be until 24 months before the end of Tatem’s term. That’s well within the window when the law calls for an appointment, not a Special Election, to fill the seat.
“November 2024 is less than 28 months away from November 2026,” Felix said. “Accordingly, even assuming the facts in his Petition to be true, Petitioner fails to state a claim for relief.”
Golden presented evidence that he sent in all necessary qualifying paperwork the normal qualification period for School Board, even though no election had been called.
He’s now filed with the Second District Court of Appeal, and as is typical with election-related cases, the court has agreed to expedite the case.
In his appeal, Golden argues the statutory changes passed by the Legislature about the resign-to-run rule don’t override the state constitution on the matter.
“That does not — and cannot — mean the law now prohibits an election when the Constitution requires one,” Golden’s appellate brief argues.
Courts have given Satcher’s Office until July 30 to reply. Golden has until Aug. 1 to respond to any arguments in Satcher’s brief.
Golden, a former Democratic candidate for Congress, served on the Manatee County School Board from 2018 to 2022. Satcher, a Republican and a former County Commissioner, was appointed by DeSantis as Supervisor of Elections after former Supervisor of Elections Mike Bennett retired and resigned earlier this year.
