Rod Velez a 'step closer' to taking a seat on the Broward County School Board
MIAMI - Rod Velez hopes Wednesday's court ruling clears the path to serve his elected position.
A judge granted his motion for dismissal in a case disputing his qualification to serve on the Broward County School Board.
However, one legal hurdle remains.
Velez spoke with CBS4 exclusively to discuss the final step before he can represent District 1 on the Broward County School Board.
"It's been a little stressful," said Velez.
"I won't lie to you."
Velez overcame two legal obstacles in 24 hours.
Each centered around one point, was he eligible to run for public office?
"I wholeheartedly felt I was able to serve with just my Amendment 4 voting rights restored," explained Velez, referring back to when he filed to run for the school board seat in June.
His candidacy led to a legal challenge disputing his qualifications stemming from a felony conviction in 1994.
"That spurred a criminal investigation where it was alleged he engaged in an oath he shouldn't have taken," said Michael Gottlieb, Velez's lawyer.
The state attorney's office declined on Tuesday to file a criminal charge.
Documents obtained by CBS4 from that decision stated a Florida law change in 2018 restored a felon's right to vote if they met certain conditions.
Those documents said Velez had his rights restored that year.
State prosecutors wrote: "Velez maintained that on June 13, 2022, he truly believed that he was eligible to run for public office."
"If you have the right to vote, you should be able to vote for yourself if you run for office," said Gottlieb.
"The public spoke," said Velez.
"I was the clear winner. And to not sit there on the dais with my colleagues is disheartening."
During the state prosecutor's investigation, they determined this week that he did not have his full rights restored and could not hold office without clemency from the state.
School board chair Lori Alhadeff would welcome Velez if the state clears him to serve.
"We are supposed to have nine members on the school board," said Alhadeff.
"Currently, we only have 8. I hope for Rod's constituents he does get to be in that position. However, it's really up to Governor DeSantis."
"I was told the Governor was going to see the outcome of today's hearing and then perhaps grant that clemency," mentioned Gottlieb.
"I just believe that moving forward, things are going to be great," said Velez.
There's also time sensitivity to all of this.
Gottlieb mentioned state law requiring an elected official to be sworn in within 30 days of an election being certified.
The deadline for Velez would be Thursday.
Gottlieb also pointed to another state law that potentially contradicts that and would provide more time for a decision to be made.
CBS4 reached out to the Governor's office for clarification on the state law's reference by Gottlieb and if the Governor plans to grant Velez clemency or appoint someone else to the District 1 seat.
