Fort Myers Beach Town Council members John King and Karen Woodson have until the end of the day today to resign from their seats or face a recall election in 30 to 60 days. They do not plan to resign. Here’s what happens next.
According to the Lee County Elections office, after the deadline passes for King and Woodson to resign, Chief Judge Frank Porter will set the date for the recall election. That election must be set within 30-60 days from today.
The Lee County Elections office has also confirmed how the recall election will work. “The recall of the council members and voting of candidates to fill any potential vacancies would occur in the same special recall election on the same ballot.” There had been an erroneous post on Facebook made by the recall committee that if the recall election was successful, it would trigger a second election 30-60 days later. That’s incorrect.
If you would like to run in the special recall election to fill those two potential vacancies you will need to qualify through the Lee County Elections office. You can contact the Qualifying Department at (239) 533-8683 for more information. If King and Woodson are recalled they are not allowed to have their names put on the ballot under the recall question with the other candidates seeking their office. If they are recalled they are not barred from running in a future election.
Once a candidate qualifies, their name will be listed on the Lee County Elections website and we will be able to share the candidates names with you.