03/07/2024
5 thoughts on “Demolition of Malcolm Yonge has begun” via Rick's Blog:
🟢 Neighbor says:
CJ, I’ve been following this saga (and your comments on it) for a while now. Appreciate the vast insight and perspective.
In reviewing the City Charter, I’m struggling to see how, legally, the petition being issued “pauses” all existing legislative action. A transparent Mayor would certainly do all that he could to communicate timelines with the public and provide proper space for the power of referendum to be followed. Of course, with a possible injunction in the wings, it would have been ridiculously simple for our Mayor to have just asked for a pause in demolition for 60 days. This would have harmed no one and would have saved all of this unnecessary drama. Obviously, none of this happened.
That said, the fact that the Mayor went to the trouble to hire outside counsel makes me feel that he knows what he’s doing doesn’t technically violate the Charter. Instead, this feels like taking advantage of an egregious (and potentially intentional) Charter loophole.
If you can help me (and those of us who read this blog) understand the legality better, I would happily sign onto any recall petition.
🟢 CJ Lewis says:
If anyone wants to initiate a recall petition to remove Mayor Reeves from office, I have taken the liberty of drafting the proposed 200-word indictment below. Even if people don’t give a hoot about the Malcolm Yonge Gym, they should care about our city charter. My Councilwoman Brahier does not. She calls it “the old fight.” A recall can be initiated using the procedure prescribed by Section 100.361 Municipal Recall, Florida Statutes. It’s not as hard as it seems.
While petition signatures must be witnessed, it doesn’t have to be done by a member of the Petitioners’ Committee. When a person signs, they just need to have a person sign saying that they saw them sign their name. A married couple can witness each other’s signatures.
Petitions can be distributed by e-mail, posted online to websites or handed out. They can be mailed back to whomever is overseeing the collection process. The key is that signatures have to match the ones on record with the Supervisor’s Office and the signature has to be wet, i.e. a real signature. You can’t send back a PDF of your petition form. It has to be the real thing.
The recall process is two parts with only 5% of registered votes needed for the first phase. That should be easy and especially given that Mayor Reeves was elected with so few votes and so quickly worked so hard to anger so many voters. The text also provides a brief overview of what Mayor Reeves did to undermine the integrity of our city government:
A citizen petitioners’ committee seeks to remove Mayor D.C. Reeves from office for Malfeasance or Official Misconduct. On November 24, 2009, voters overwhelmingly approved a new city constitution the Charter for the City of Pensacola providing for the Power of Referendum to challenge any measure adopted by the City Council. On February 8, 2024, the City Council approved the demolition of the historic Malcolm Yonge Gym, a community center at 10th Avenue and East Jackson Street in the Old East Hill neighborhood. The action was taken at the request of Mayor Reeves who wants to convert city-owned parks to city taxpayer-subsidized housing. On February 16th, voters filed an Affidavit of Petitioners’ Committee with the City Clerk who lawfully issued a petition that suspended for 60 days the action taken on February 8th. By law, the Petitioners’ Committee had 60 days to get the required petition signatures. On February 21st, Mayor Reeves mailed a notice to property owners near the gym stating his intent to demolish it as soon as March 4th, confirming prior public comments that he was not going to allow the petition process to proceed as required by law. On March 6, 2024, Mayor Reeves demolished the gym.
🟢 Give me a break says:
I’m not a city resident, and have no connection to any of this, but it sure seems like this situation was really bungled. If, as Mr. Lewis has suggested, that this action violated the city constitution based on approvals and timing — how was this a lawful act? How did no one file an injunction before the point became moot?
Sidebar: Someone should really dig into the Lighthouse Christian Academy — they seem to be involved in a lot of weird doings…
🟢 Joanne says:
March 6, 2024 at 3:24 pm
Is this an example of tyranny, Rick?
🟢 CJ Lewis says:
March 6, 2024 at 11:47 am
Perhaps the IN Weekly legal department could offer its own opinion on the legality of the demolition. The city constitution either means what it says or it means nothing.
Two readers have notified us that the demolition of the Malcolm Yonge Gym has begun. Teresa Hill emailed us the above photo.
