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Petition seeks to get 3 off council By KEVIN GRAHAM --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TEMPLE TERRACE - Ken Tozier says that three Temple Terrace City Council members have wronged residents with their votes on certain items in a redevelopment plan and he wants them removed from office. Tozier, defeated in last year's mayoral race by Joe Affronti, filed papers with the city clerk last week to establish the Citizens for Development in Temple Terrace Recall Political Action Committee. Their goal: Remove Ken Halloway, Linda Shattles and Glenda Venable from the City Council. Tozier's recall petition comes as no surprise to his targets. "You sit around and you wonder, "What is this guy going to do next?' " said Halloway. "Most of the residents in Temple Terrace know the man for what he is, and they understand he is nothing more than a troublemaker." Tozier, chairman of the political action committee, said he took particular aim at the three council members after a Sept. 27 meeting about the N 56th Street redevelopment plan. Halloway, Shattles and Venable each voted to support the possible move of City Hall into the redevelopment area, which runs from Bullard Parkway south to Riverhills Drive. Council members Frank Chillura and Ron Govin argued that the majority of residents don't want any government buildings in the redevelopment and voted no on relocating City Hall. "I would say that that is the straw that broke the camel's back," Tozier said. Mayor Affronti, though not a voting member of the council, also supported the City Hall move, calling it in the best interest of the city. "It's poor governance," Tozier said. "Misfeasance is the key to this. That is, in a word, the problem here." Halloway, Shattles and Venable were also the only ones to vote in favor of keeping a community arts center in the redevelopment area for up to five years, then finding a permanent location. Some residents have said they don't want it there at all. Tozier pointed to the Aug. 2 referendum that called for a 1-mill tax increase to allow the city to issue up to $20-million in bonds, paying for new roads and park areas south of Bullard. Residents defeated the measure 57 percent to 43 precent. "The vote was pretty overwhelming," Tozier said. "How could these elected officials be so out of touch with the citizens and on the heels of that, on Tuesday, Sept. 27, they turn around and vote in favor of what the citizens voted against?" Shattles had a different opinion. "I don't think that's true," she said. "We followed our principles and voted the way we felt was right for our citizens and our community, and that's the way I stand. I will continue to vote my principles." Venable said Tozier has a right to do what he wants. "They have a right to challenge our democracy," she said. Tozier said he plans to mobilize a petition drive by this weekend. There are 13,923 registered voters in Temple Terrace, according to the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Office. Tozier said his recall measure needs signatures from 10 percent of registered voters at the time of the Aug. 2 referendum. "I have faith in the people of Temple Terrace, and they aren't going to fall for this," Halloway said. Once the first batch of signatures is collected, Halloway, Shattles and Venable would have a chance to respond. Then Tozier must gather a second round of signatures. This time, 15 percent of voters. "I don't think they're evil people, they're just wrong," Tozier said. "You need the right people in office at the right time. Clearly, these are the wrong people at the wrong time."
© Copyright 2003 St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved |
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