The bill has come due to pay for the recall of Karen Woodson and John King. The Lee County Elections Office has sent an invoice for $17,592.54 to the Town of Fort Myers Beach. There are also legal fees being racked up by Woodson and King during the appeals process.
Fort Myers Beach taxpayers must pay the legal fees to defend King and Woodson in the process because the recall allegations against them – which they have denied from the beginning – were made against them while they were sitting council members.
To date, King’s legal bill is nearly $25,000 and Woodson’s is about $45,000. Both were recalled by the voters last month. King was allowed to stay on council when a judge ruled the petition to recall him was invalid. Former Council member Bill Veach is appealing that ruling. The judge also ruled that Woodson’s petition was valid and Woodson is appealing that ruling.
King and Woodson have also filed defamation lawsuits against Veach and former Mayor Ray Murphy, co-chairs of the recall committee. Legal fees for those lawsuits will not be paid for by taxpayers.
The seat King occupies now and the seat Woodson formerly occupied are both up for election in November of 2026.
Read Karen Woodson’s 55-page appeal HERE.
Read Ray Murphy’s response to Woodson’s appeal HERE.
Read Bill Veach’s appeal to Judge Cohen’s final order HERE.
$70,000? Didn’t we just pay that same amount just to ask somebody if building a seawall would be a good idea???
$70,000 is worth every penny if it stops those two from voting on any development moving forward.
But honestly, King and Woodson, read the room. The majority of the residents have stated we don’t want you involved in our government anymore. Why stay where you are not wanted? Go away!
Hopefully, this serves as a Wake Up Call! Not only for Town Council but ALL Town Government. They are supposed to be working on behalf of the town, it’s residents and tax-payers and it surely doesn’t always appear that is the case. Sunshine Law Violations?? Personally, no I don’t believe it. But what is extremely clear to me (and should be for every Town Council/LPA/Staff member) is … King and Woodson’s biggest “violation”? Voters believe they chose to ignore, bend, manipulate or cherry pick some of the rules of the Comp Plan for certain developments. Consequently, ignoring and sacrificing the rights of nearby property owners and their property values, which the Comp Plan is there to protect!! So, am I surprised Ms. Woodson was recalled and ultimately terminated? Not at all. Is it fair they have been accused of unfounded violations, No! But based on our own personal experience with TC/Town Staff, none of this surprises me!
We want nothing more than to see this island rebuild, but rules have be consistently followed, (i.e.,Comp Plan), otherwise personal agendas and corruption can sneak their way in. Please keep in mind LPA/Staff/TC – This isn’t just about YOUR vision for the future of the island, it’s about all of ours too!
That’s how voting works….For the people, by the people. They should have listened to the people, and should have “listened” to our Comp Plan. Instead, they skewered our island’s future with a 17 floor abomination and threw this island into turmoil. The majority spoke. Now, we all pay, including Mr. King and Mrs. Woodson. Neither would have been voted in to begin with, had they been honest.
You stated it well! Thank you!
Veach and Murphy are the ones that should front the entire bill and thanks to them the beach and town look ridiculous for entertaining this nonsense.
totally
Au Contraire Ann. If you are complaining of the cost the shame belongs entirely to Veach, Murphy and the people who voted for a recall with less than a year before Woodson and King’s terms expired. The nearly $18,000 cost from Lee County was certainly brought on by an action by Veach and Murphy. The defense costs are provided for public servants without which no one with any sense would agree to serve on council.
Shaming and name calling is a favorite tool of those who don’t have a better argument.
If replacing two or more council members was your goal, that could have been accomplished with far less expense had the protagonists chosen to do so at the next regular election.
Sure….could’ve waited til November, but what damage would have been caused to the island during that time with their “pro-large development “ attitudes? This island has a vision already. At the first joint town council meeting/LDC meeting, they both voted to uphold the comp plan and that vision. They pulled the rug out from the island residents. We don’t want that representing our island. And not sure if you saw the meeting where Rebecca joined the council, but John didn’t even know how to vote. This is not a dig, but he, or anyone else without a good knowledge base of town government, has no business molding the future of this island. We need people with a full understanding for that.
Absolutely agree
Nope, Karen and John brought this upon the Town by not heeding residents, the Plan and the Code. And it would have cost nothing if they had resigned after the residents made clear their no confidence
my ass
it’s not OK to create false allegations of malfeasance and vote to recall based on it.
even if you believe they didn’t follow the comp plan it gives those idiots murphy & veach no right to publish demonstrably false information in a petition.
the residents can make clear their no confidence AT THE REGULAR ELECTION in November 2026
there is an appropriate time and place to vote no confidence…..it’s called next year……..you just have to wait.
Wow! At Fort Myers Beach Town Hall the cost of snubbing constituents’ pleas is expensive. Unfortunately it’s the constituents who must pay for the defiance.
How much money could the town save on lawyers and consultants if we just asked Lee Melsek since he apparently knows best about everything!
Lee does put his name on everything, so you know whose opinion it is; and, he would be a terrific consultant.
That’s why we’re going to save so much money for the town!!! Normally you have to hire different consultants and attorneys who are experts in their respective fields. With Lee we get one guy who knows the right answer for everyone and everything!
Both Woodson and King should be ASHAMED of themselves !!
The RECALL would not have happened had they listened to the people and followed the Comp Plan – obviously you have their own agenda – which has been made CRYSTAL CLEAR.
Punishing your Constituents with endless Lawsuits does not win over Voters !
John King:
The people DID NOT let you down —
YOU let the people down.
Obviously, you and Woodson have no SHAME, PRIDE or any DIGNITY !!