Clerk Of Courts Begins Verifying Recall Petitions
MIAMI (CBS4) - The long and tedious process of verifying more than one hundred thousand petitions requesting the recall of Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez got underway Tuesday at the county's Clerk of Courts office.
"The amount of paper is just so enourmous, it presents a problem or a challenge in itself," said Miami Dade County Clerk Harvey Ruvin. "But we're up to it."
The recall effort was launched by billionaire Norman Braman in October after county commissioners approved Alvarez's budget for the coming year which raised the property tax rate and gave raises to most county employees.
The first part of the process requires that the petitions be scanned into a computer. Then the signature of the notary on each petition has to be verified, the clerk's office has 30 days to do so. After that, the signature of those who signed the petition must be checked by comparing it to ones on file in the election's department data base.
Miami Dade Clerk of Courts Harvey Ruvin said he has no idea how long the process will take because something on this scale has never been done before. He said this is the largest recall verfication process that has ever been seen nationwide. Because of that Ruvin has no time estimates on when it should be completed.
"Haste makes waste," he said. "We're gonna do this in a careful deliberate step by step manner to make sure that when we finally certify the results that we can stand behind those results."
Both the Braman camp and the Alvarez camp are being extremely critical of the process. Ruvin said while both sides will be allowed to scrutinize the work being done, they will no way be allowed to meddle with his workers.
"There's a red tape across here (the floor). We're going to ask all the representatives from either side to stand behind the tape. I will not permit anyone to distract or disrupt this process, or in any way to intimidate or to interface at all with those individuals which are doing this very difficult task."
When the South Florida auto magnate started his campaign, some questioned whether he would be able to collect the required 52-thousand signatures in 60 days. But momentum built quickly and lines soon formed at three sites across the county where petitions could be signed.
Days into his recall campaign, Braman delivered 113 thousand recall petitions to the clerk's office.
Not take taking the drive to remove him from office lightly, Alvarez has filed a suit against Braman and effort citing a legal technicality. He claims one signature - the signature of the person who approved the petition form - is invalid. He said a letter approving the petition was signed by a deputy courts clerk, not the clerk himself.
A lawsuit aimed at blocking the recall was expected but the reasoning was a surprise.
Alvarez led his own petition drive in 2005 to help place a "strong mayor" proposal on the ballot, a proposal that eventually passed. That letter approving the petitions also was signed by a deputy clerk.
"To use a technicality, something that he himself did on his strong … when he wanted to become strong mayor," Braman said. "His petition was signed by the deputy clerk under the authorization of the clerk."
The lawsuit names Braman and Ruvin.
"With regard to this lawsuit, I want to assure you that in fact I did personally review and approve the formal petition," said Ruvin.
"The lawsuit refers to a non-required courtesy letter covering the transmittal of the approved form. The deputy that signed it under my direction did so under my salutation, the letter is clearly from me and I did personally approve the form of petition."
Braman said he will not be deterred by the Mayor's lawsuit.
"If it's successful, we'll go out and get the signatures again, this is not going to defeat us," Braman said. "We intend to give the people of this community the option to say we're happy with Mayor Alvarez he should stay in office or he should be removed."
