City attorney says she would sue to keep Burney off the ballot

From the Times Union, by Topher Sanders

Jacksonville general counsel Cindy Laquidara stated today in an email that she would sue to keep any School Board candidate seeking three consecutive terms off the ballots in August.

Only one potential candidate fits that bill: Betty Burney.

Laquidara said she would sue to “prevent the need for a special election and to uphold the charter provision.” She also stated that currently there isn’t an issue because no current school board members have qualified as of Monday.

“There is to my knowledge no school board member who has filed qualification papers,” she wrote. “There may never be a question regarding that; it depends on if a member wants to serve three consecutive terms following the S. Ct. decision in Broward County.”

The Times-Union has called Burney for comment. Burney said last week she planned to defend her seat.

This all stems from last month’s Supreme Court decision to backtrack from a 2002 ruling that found term limits for constitutional officers were unconstitutional. The Supreme Court ruled that Broward County had a right to enforce term limits for its county commissioners. Duval County Clerk of Courts Jim Fuller is caught in the same bind as Burney.

“The office of office general counsel does not give opinions to candidates,” Laquidara said. “So we only give opinions if there’s an issue unto the charter that arises. Someone has to already have decided to run for office that then creates a legal issue that the city objects.”

http://jacksonville.com/opinion/blog/479262/topher-sanders/2012-06-04/general-counsel-would-sue-keep-school-board-chair