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Apopka mayor sues political rival, challenging city residency
Apopka Mayor Bryan Nelson has filed a lawsuit against his political opponent, County Commissioner Christine Moore, claiming she does not qualify to appear on the mayoral ballot because she has not been a resident long enough.
APOPKA, Fla. - Apopka Mayor Bryan Nelson filed a lawsuit against his political opponent, Orange County Commissioner Christine Moore.
Nelson is claiming Moore does not qualify to appear on the mayoral ballot because she hasn't been a resident long enough.
Local perspective:
Nelson’s lawsuit includes photographs showing Moore’s car at a home in unincorporated Orange County during the 70-day period when she says she was living within Apopka city limits.
The city’s charter requires candidates to be residents for at least a year before holding office. Nelson says the photos prove Moore was outside the city during that time.
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The other side:
Moore denies the claims, saying she has lived in Apopka at both a rented room on Magnolia Street and a new property on Central Avenue, and calling the lawsuit "bogus" and a distraction from city issues such as overgrowth and infrastructure.
Nelson’s lawsuit also alleges Moore improperly signed her own candidate filing check instead of her campaign treasurer. Moore says she has not yet been officially served with the lawsuit.
What they're saying:
Nelson said photographs and other evidence demonstrates that Moore is not a legal resident of Apopka.
"We've got digital photographs, documentation showing her car in front of her home in Orange County for that 70-day period of time when she needed to be in the City of Apopka," Mayor Nelson said. "She was living in the county home for 60 days past the point that she needed to be living in the city with, with, you know, with photographic documentation stating that she was there in the county and not in the city."
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Moore said the lawsuit has no merit.
"It's a bogus lawsuit that I wish he hadn't brought. The mayor had not brought, because we really need to talk about the issues facing Apopka, which is overgrowth and the lack of infrastructure," she added.
The Source: This story was written based on information shared by Apopka Mayor Bryan Nelson and his opponent, Orange County Commissioner Christine Moore.