By Reggie Connell, Managing Editor
In 2022, Bryan Nelson became the first person to win re-election as Apopka Mayor since John Land. Now, one year after his inauguration, he could be the first in its history to be recalled.
A committee of vocal Apopka residents is in the early stages of petitioning for Nelson's ouster. The Facebook Group "Recall Bryan Nelson" has begun the process of getting petitions signed by registered Apopka voters to get to the next stage of a recall.
According to the petition, the reasons the committee cited for recalling Nelson are:
- STATEMENT OF GROUNDS FOR RECALL
We, the electors of the City of Apopka, recall Mayor Bryan Nelson due to Malfeasance, Misfeasance, and Incompetence. Bryan Nelson lied about- 1) Serving as Mayor for half salary; 2) Firing the former Fire Chief; 3) Firing long term employees who disagree with him, or who supported his former political opponent; 4) new Affordable Housing Development in the City Center; 5) the death of a young firefighter, and the safety committee that was supposed to investigate same; 6) the water quality, backflow preventers and the fine assessed by Fla. DEP; 7) Encourages City employees to withhold public records; He refuses to hold anyone accountable for the death of Austin Duran; continues to reward those responsible for the lack of proper training for firefighters; manipulated a city council election; continues to involve himself in the Rock Springs Ridge matter; refuses to properly fund or provide for first responders; uses City Resources to punish those that oppose or question him; argues against hiring needed first responders; Ignores the council and the public; permits employees to disrespect members of the public and the council; ignores provisions of the charter; wants to be dictator.
“There’s a whole lot of issues that he’s not taking any action on, so it’s time to find honest leadership for our city,” said Dennis New, the chairman of the recall committee.
But recalling the mayor of a Florida municipality is a tall order for any group to achieve.
According to Florida Statute 100.361 – on Municipal Recalls for details on a municipal recall, there are two petition stages before an actual recall vote can happen.
Stage One: "In a municipality or district of 25,000 or more registered electors, the petition shall be signed by at least 1,000 electors or by 5 percent of the total number of registered electors of the municipality or district as of the preceding municipal election, whichever is greater.
All signatures shall be obtained, as provided in paragraph (e), within a period of 30 days, and all signed and dated petition forms shall be filed at the same time, no later than 30 days after the date on which the first signature is obtained on the petition."
At the last election, there were 35,243 registered voters in Apopka. That comes out to 1,762.15 (5%) petitions needed to move to the next stage. According to New, the process started on April 19th, which means they are on day six (as of April 24th).
If they can get enough signatures in stage one, stage two is an even greater hurdle to clear.
Stage Two: Upon receipt of the “Recall Petition and Defense,” the committee may circulate them to obtain the signatures of 15 percent of the electors. All signatures shall be obtained and all signed petition forms filed with the clerk no later than 60 days after delivery of the “Recall Petition and Defense” to the chair of the committee.
That comes out to 5,286.45 petitions (15%) within 60 days of the first signature.
To put that into perspective, in the 2022 Apopka Mayoral election, 6,762 Apopka voters participated, with Nelson receiving 3,643 votes to Commissioner Kyle Becker's 3,119.
To make it to a recall ballot, the committee would need to receive 2,167 more petitions than voted against Nelson in 2022.
"In my tenure as the Supervisor of Elections, I have never seen a recall petition drive go through the full process," said Orange County Supervisor of Elections Bill Cowles.
But New, who is on the frontlines of this initiative, believes there is momentum in this community thirsting for change.
“I firmly believe we will have the signatures to get this onto the ballot,” he said.
And on local social media over the weekend, New sounded like a man on a mission.
"First of all, I want to thank every single person who is helping with this petition drive," he said on Facebook over the weekend. "Yesterday was overwhelming to me! The outpouring of support and people stepping up was beyond belief!!! To those who picked up packets, I appreciate it. Please remember we are on a tight timeline! Twenty-seven days left, so let's get them signed and returned. The support for saving our city is excellent and beyond belief!!"
New says he has about 60 volunteers canvassing Apopka, but he also called for additional community assistance.
"We need more help because of the timeline as set in law. If you want to help, we could use volunteers in Rock Springs Ridge, Sheeler Oaks, Errol Estate, and almost every neighborhood you can think of. Thank you to those signing, and thank you to those who decide to help!!! LET'S SAVE OUR CITY!!!!"
New has heard the rumors and social media comments that allege big-money donors and out-of-town political operatives are behind the recall. But according to him, it's a shoestring operation.
"Our group is not full of deep pockets like past PACs and candidates," New said "We are not funding anyone's trip or giving away door prizes! I'm doing this for the good of the City. The dishonesty and issues from lack of leadership and poor management have left this city with a huge liability problem, as well as cost us $45,000 a month in interest from poor leadership and management."
