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Temple Terrace activist rethinks effort to oust council members

By KEVIN GRAHAM
Published October 22, 2005

TEMPLE TERRACE - An outspoken political activist who wanted to have three Temple Terrace City Council members removed has decided to refocus his attention because he said the process would take too long.

Ken Tozier, a candidate in last year's mayoral race, filed paperwork this month to begin a recall effort for council members Ken Halloway, Linda Shattles and Glenda Venable. Tozier said the three didn't vote the way citizens wanted when they supported a possible move of City Hall into the N 56th Street redevelopment area.

Tozier filed paperwork to establish the Citizens for Development in Temple Terrace Recall Political Action Committee. The group was to begin collecting voters' signatures, but Tozier, president of the committee, said members never went door to door.

Instead, Tozier announced this week that he has re-evaluated the plan. He said the state attorney general would allow the council members to request that a judge rule on whether the recall was justified. The legal process could tie up the recall for six months. The 2006 election cycle will begin in 10 months.

"Why would we want 15 or 30 people out there working to go through all that effort, only at the end of that time, we're right in the election cycle," Tozier said. "All of a sudden, all that work is for naught, and I'm afraid the whole team would be discouraged."

Tozier said the Citizens for Development in Temple Terrace will focus on finding a slate of candidates for the November 2006 election "who will clean up the mess that has been created for Temple Terrace taxpayers."

"We're already kicking around some names," Tozier said. "It's premature to drop any of them."

[Last modified October 22, 2005, 01:13:18]