Ex-candidate: Drop Antone
Scott says legislator ineligible for school board because he does not live in district
A candidate who lost his race for the Orange County School Board in last week’s primary election still wants Rep. Bruce Antone knocked off the ballot, arguing the longtime state legislator is ineligible to run for the school board because he does not live in the district he wants to represent.
Antone, who could not run for his Florida House seat again because of term limits, on Aug. 18 came in second in the three-way race for the school board’s district 5 seat. VickiElaine Felder, a veteran teacher, came in first. Since neither won at least 50% plus one vote, Felder and Antone are to be in a runoff in November.
Michael Scott finished third last week and so was eliminated from the race. But he thinks Antone was wrongly on the ballot and is continuing the pursue the lawsuit he filed last month that challenges Antone’s candidacy.
“I just want a fair election,” he said.
Scott’s lawsuit challenged Antone’s ability to run for the school board seat, arguing he lives in in a district that sits to the west of the one he wants to represent.
The campaign papers Antone submitted June 10 to qualify for the school board race listed his address as a home in the school board’s district 4, according to records from the Orange County Supervisor of Elections, but he is running in district 5.
In July, after he qualified for the race, Antone switched his voter registration to a home in district 5. Scott, however, does not believe Antone is living at that new address.
Scott’s lawsuit was not heard before last Tuesday’s primary. A hearing is scheduled for Sept. 21, but Scott’s attorney, Christian Waugh, said he may try to get it moved up.
“He definitely should not be on the ballot,” Waugh said of Antone. “He’s definitely a disqualified candidate.”
Antone would not discuss the lawsuit or answer questions about his residency except to say, “I will prevail, and I don’t
think my residence is an issue.”
Florida law says, “Each candidate for district school board member shall, at the time she or he qualifies, be a resident of the district school board member residence area from which the candidate seeks election.”
The race is for the seat board member Kat Gordon has held for 20 years. She did not seek reelection this year.
District 5 runs from Pine Hills south to Tangelo Park and takes in a number of west Orlando communities.
Antone said his Florida House district, which he has represented since 2012, overlaps significantly with the school board’s district 5, so he has long been involved in the community, responsive to constituent concerns and focused on school issues.
“I care about the community, I care about the district, I care about those kids,” he added.
Scott’s lawsuit names Antone and Bill Cowles, the supervisor of elections, as defendants.
Cowles would not comment on whether Antone was qualified to run in the district 5 race. “We’ll let the court decide that question,” he said.
Felder, who won 40.5% of the vote to Antone’s 31.5% and Scott’s 28%, could not be reached for comment.
Antone’s district 4 home, which he has owned since at least 2001, is the one on which he has a 2020 homestead exemption, according to the Orange County Property Appraiser’s office.
That home, off Good Homes Road in west Orange, is also the home he has listed on financial disclosure forms required for members of the Florida Legislature.
The district 4 school board seat is held by Pam Gould, who was up for re-election this year and faced two challengers. Gould was the top finisher but didn’t earn enough votes to avoid a runoff in November against the second place candidate.
“Why didn’t he run against her in the area in which he lives?” Scott said.
The residence Antone now lists as his address is on Lenox Boulevard, not far from Washington Shores, and is a small, concrete block home, the property appraiser’s office shows. It is owned by a man who lives in California, according to the records. Scott’s attorney claims it is now rented by a member of Antone’s campaign staff. If Scott’s lawsuit is successful, and Atone is removed from the ballot by a judge, that doesn’t mean Scott would be a candidate again, Cowles said.
By Sept. 14, his office must have ballots for the runoff printed and mailed to military personnel who requested them, Cowles said, and at this point they would list Antone and Felder as the candidates.
Also, in non-partisan races, as school board elections are, there is “not a mechanism for a replacement candidate to get on the ballot” if someone is removed, he added.
That could mean Felder would win automatically, if Antone is deemed an ineligible candidate.
But Waugh said he will argue otherwise, if the judge rules against Antone’s candidacy. Awarding the election to Felder by default nullifies the wishes of residents who voted for Scott and Antone in the primary, he said.
“Those voters should have a chance to have their voices heard,” he added.