King submits response to recall petition

Fort Myers Beach Councilmember John King has submitted his official response to the petitions submitted for his recall, challenging the allegations submitted by a group seeking to force an early election. King said he submitted his response to the town clerk’s office on the recall petitions on Friday.

King’s response will be attached to new petitions the group seeking to recall him will need to distribute as they seek to collect signatures from 15% of the town’s registered voters over the next 60 days in order to force a recall.

There is also an effort to recall Councilmember Karen Woodson. The town clerk’s office could not be reached to confirm if Woodson has submitted her response. The Fort Myers Beach Observer submitted Sunshine Law requests to the Town of Fort Myers Beach Clerk’s Office seeking official copies of the responses.

King provided a copy of the following response, which will be the official petition response to the recall effort:

DEFENSE STATEMENT OF JOHN KING

JOHN KING seeks relief on the recall process initiated by a disgruntled FORMER COUNSELOR because the petition is FALSE.

ALLEGATION ONE. King never had private conversations to replace the Town Attorney. It was never discussed, and the Town Attorney was not replaced. If the Former Councilor believes a conversation did occur, he should have submitted a written report to the Florida Commission on Ethics, rather than wasting $25,000 of taxpayer money on a recall election. There is no report because it is FALSE.

ALLEGATION TWO. King never received unreported gifts. Like Allegation One, if gifts were unreported, the Former Councilor should have reported it to the Commission. There are no essential facts in the petition, like time, location, or amount, because it is FALSE.

ALLEGATION THREE. King did not remove any employees. King does not have the power to remove Town employees. There are no named employees who have been fired, and there have been no reports of wrongful termination because it is FALSE.

JOHN KING requests that the recall be SUSPENDED because it is WITHOUT MERIT and FALSE.

The group seeking to recall King alleged that he had violated the Sunshine Law by engaging in talks with Woodson over an attempt to replace former Town Attorney John Herin Jr. in 2023. The group also alleged that he and Woodson had received unreported gifts from those seeking land use approvals from the town. The group also alleged that his actions caused the “removal” of contract employees.

Woodson separately was accused in a recall petition of violating the Sunshine Law by discussing the Fort Myers Beach Pier with Vice Mayor Jim Atterholt.

Woodson could not immediately be reached for comment.

Fort Myers Beach Observer Editor Nathan Mayberg can be reached at NMayberg@breezenewspapers.com