APOPKA, Fla. — A group of Apopka citizens is gathering signatures in an effort to recall the city’s mayor, the citizens announced Wednesday night.
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The recall effort stems from Mayor Bryan Nelson’s refusal to fire the city’s attorney or fire chief, despite a majority of city commissioners voting to terminate the attorney’s contract and voting no confidence on the chief’s ability to lead his department.
Firefighters also overwhelmingly voted no confidence against the chief in the wake of the death of firefighter Austin Duran.
“There’s a whole lot of issues, and he’s not taking any action on so it’s time to find honest leadership for our city,” Dennis New, one of the recall effort’s leaders, said.
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Nelson has been under increasing criticism for defying the commission’s will two weeks ago. As mayor, only he has the ability to fire the fire chief, but he said the chief should not be blamed for Duran’s death.
It’s less clear if he has the same power over the attorney’s contract, but he explained Wednesday he believed the vote against the attorney was ceremonial without his backing.
His comments angered other commissioners, particularly Kyle Becker, who lost to Nelson in November. Becker said commissioners should show up with their own attorney during future meetings and later called Nelson out for backing the fire chief.
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“You put out there that this [trailer] should’ve been decommissioned long ago, and yet you’ve sat in this chair for five years,” Becker chastised. “You or the chief are accountable for [Duran’s death], so either you take the accountability or the chief does.”
Nelson grew visibly frustrated at times during the meeting, banging his gavel to silence the audience’s applause and warning against outbursts.
However, he was good natured when approached after the meeting, though he declined to comment on the recall effort or respond to the claims made against him.
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The petitioners will need to gather the signatures of 5% of Apopka’s voters within 30 days of getting their first signature, which is expected Thursday. New estimated it would amount to approximately 1,700 signatures, but said he was aiming for 2,000.
“I firmly believe we have the signatures to get this onto the ballot,” he said.
Nelson was just re-elected over Becker in November after a grueling campaign, though he ultimately won by a 250-vote margin.
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