The Seminole annexation fight doesn't seem to be over as the sides clash over election paperwork.
By MARY JANE PARK
Published November 23, 2003
SEMINOLE - City officials and Unincorporated Seminole organizer Al Redman met last week to try to hash out an election issue that may cost him substantial fines.
The result: Neither the city nor Redman blinked.
Beverly Brown, the city clerk, said Redman still has not submitted USEM's original campaign finance paperwork. That went to the county elections office, and Seminole received what is called a "courtesy" copy.
Redman said he sent identical reports to both agencies, and the city is retaliating against him because its annexation effort took a thorough thrashing at the polls Aug. 26.
On Monday, Redman met with Brown, city manager Frank Edmunds and city attorney John Elias.
"We were kind of hoping he would get all the summary paperwork together," Brown said. "He doesn't feel he owes me anything. We told him we would have to take our necessary course of action because state law doesn't allow us to do anything different."
Members of the political action committee that fought annexation are county residents, Redman said, and county workers conducted the election.
"In a fair-minded organization, why should we be reporting to the city? The actual information is the same. This really boils down to this: Their nose is out of joint, and they're trying to make an issue" of a technicality, he said.
"Our city attorney and I will go over all the paperwork and the appropriate laws to determine what the fine would be," Brown said. "We feel that the law doesn't give us any leeway on that."
"I don't know what their overall plan is," Redman said. "The city appears to be on a collision course to invoke the fine. They're looking for some way of pulling the rug out from under me."
