Petition effort underway to recall councilmembers King and Woodson
Former Fort Myers Beach councilmembers allege violations of Sunshine Law, unreported gifts
Two and a half years after they were elected in the wake of Hurricane Ian, Fort Myers Beach councilmembers John King and Karen Woodson are facing a recall effort from political opponents that could lead to an early election being called.
The recall effort is being organized by former town councilmembers Ray Murphy and Bill Veach. The recall process requires under state law that the organizers first collect signatures from 10% of the Town of Fort Myers Beach electorate in order to bring charges of misfeasance or malfeasance.
While the terms of King and Woodson are not up until November of 2026, the recall effort could lead to a special election as soon as the end of this year if successful.
The recall petition involves broad allegations that King and Woodson violated the Sunshine Law and also received unreported gifts from parties seeking land use approvals from the town council, as well as other alleged violations of the Town of Fort Myers Beach Charter.
King denied any violation of the Sunshine Law or receiving gifts, while Woodson did not respond to a request for comment.
Both King and Woodson are alleged to have received unreported gifts of meals from parties who were seeking land use approvals from Town Council in violation of Florida’s Code of Ethics for Public Officers and in violation of the Town of Fort Myers Beach Town Council Policies and Procedures Manual.
King denied receiving any gifts of a meal from a developer when contacted Friday though he said he had bought a meal for a developer during a meeting.
The allegations also include charges that King engaged in private conversations to coordinate with Woodson in attempting to replace former Town Attorney John Herin with a preferred firm (who ultimately did not accept the job) in violation of Florida’s Government-in-the-Sunshine Law, Chapter 286, Florida Statutes and in violation of the Town of Fort Myers Beach Town Council Policies and Procedures Manual.
King denied the allegation on Friday regarding working with Woodson on finding a replacement for Herin in 2023. “It’s blatantly false,” King said. King said he and Woodson had both reached out to the same person regarding a local attorney’s services while Herin was in office. King said Friday he backed away once he realized Woodson had been speaking to the same person.
A local attorney offered his services to the town before the town council had even voted on whether to remove Herin. When the private discussions between the firm and councilmembers became public, the law firm backed out of the offer. The council ultimately chose another law firm (Vose Law Firm) to represent the town after a process in which Herin’s firm also applied to retain his representation of the town. That process included the town’s former interim managers Chris Holley and Keith Wilkins hiring a separate law firm to review the firms applying to represent the town.
King, separately, is alleged to have violated the Town Charter by dictating the removal of multiple Town contract employees, who aren’t named. King said he had suggested Wilkins look into a consultant who he said he did not believe respected the council.
While the town council is allowed to vote on replacing those who serve the town at the pleasure of the council such as the manager and attorney, individual councilmembers do not have the unilateral authority to order staff members fired or demoted.
King said “I would challenge anybody to have done as much as I have.”
King cited his service on the town council and donating his first year’s salary on the council to three local nonprofits, as well as sitting on the Lee County Metropolitan Planning Organization, Southwest Florida League of Cities Board and soon to the Florida League of Cities Board representing the town. King, who also serves as the town council’s liaison to the Fort Myers Beach Marine and Environmental Resources Task Force, said “I am working hard every day, putting in the time.”
King recently made waves for proposing the town annex San Carlos Island.
Woodson, separately, is alleged to have engaged in private conversations with Vice Mayor Jim Atterholt regarding rebuilding the Fort Myers Beach Pier (owned by Lee County) that was destroyed by Hurricane Ian. Florida’s Government-in-the-Sunshine Law doesn’t allow councilmembers to speak to each other about town business items that could be on the agenda of a town council meeting or concerning business before the town, or if they could reasonably expect such business to go before the town.
Atterholt declined to comment when reached.
Woodson went in front of the Lee County Board of County Commissioners to advocate that the county construct a larger pier than the current one, which will take longer to build and be more expensive. The replacement of the pier expected to be completed in 2027.
Veach said one of the allegations regarding unreported gifts that Woodson received was for assistance she received from Moss Marina at some point after Hurricane Ian. Ben Freeland, whose family operates Moss Marina and who currently are in front of the town council for a rezoning and Comprehensive Plan amendment to construct the Arches Bayfront hotel and commercial center at Moss Marina, did not respond to a voicemail left at his office.
“Florida has some strong ethics laws regarding elected officials accepting gifts from people who may have business with the Town and prohibiting elected officials from discussing matters of the board outside of properly advertised public meetings,” Veach said. “These laws are intended to ensure that the public is informed and that they will have a reasonable voice in the decisions that affect them. These violations are particularly troubling when they are used to bypass the public process to give disproportionate influence to developers and sideline the public. The irresponsible approval of the Seagate towers in a quiet neighborhood of single-family homes in the face of fierce and universal public opposition was a clear demonstration of the dangers of violating these laws. The public has voiced strong opposition to destructive council actions and their desire to hold those responsible to account.”
Veach, who stepped down from office last year over a new state ethics law covering financial disclosures (which has since been reversed) had previously attempted to tighten the ethics rules for councilmembers.
Murphy, who was on the first town council after the town voted to incorporate in 1995 and who lose his seat on the council in 2022 when Woodson and King were voted in, said the current town council had committed “flagrant violations of the comprehensive plan in approving the (Seagate) project.
“I take no joy in having to do anything like this. It’s a sad day for the town that it has come to this,” Murphy said. “It’s going to be up to the voters of Fort Myers Beach if they want these folks to continue to represent them.”
Veach expects it will take some work finding signatures this time of year in the town.
“We are now into the off-season where many snowbirds have flown north. But given the palatable public anger these councilmembers have generated we feel that we can obtain the signatures needed,” Veach said.
The town formerly limited terms for councilmembers to three years but this was changed in 2020 when voters in the town elected to extend the terms to four years. Councilmembers are also limited to two consecutive terms in office.
The first part of the recall process requires 10% of the town’s electorate to sign petitions, while the second part includes an opportunity for the councilmembers to challenge the allegations and then a second round of petitions follows to collect signatures from 15% of the registered voters in the town. There are more than 3,000 registered voters in the Town of Fort Myers Beach, a figure that has dropped in recent years.
Once the signatures are certified by the Lee County Supervisor of Elections, the councilmembers have five days to either resign or a recall election must be held within 60 days where the councilmembers would be challenged for their seats. The councilmembers could also potentially file lawsuits challenging the process or the allegations.
Fort Myers Beach Observer Editor Nathan Mayberg can be reached at NMayberg@breezenewspapers.com