Orlando Gudes withdraws from Tampa City Council Special Election following residency questions
Orlando Gudes has withdrawn from the Special Election for Tampa City Council, District 5 following a Florida Politics report that he did not meet residency requirements for the race.
In a press release late Wednesday night, Gudes explained that he had moved “out of his personal home” so his daughter “and her three children could have a stable place to live” following “a serious accident” his daughter suffered “that resulted in severe paralysis.”
“The City Clerk’s interpretation of residency relies on the date a voter registration is changed — not on where one has physically lived,” Gudes further explained. “I, on the other hand, interpreted the Charter’s residency requirement to be where a person physically lives, not what is on the voter registration card or when it might have been updated.”
The announcement comes after Florida Politics reported on Monday that Gudes had changed his address on his voter registration on June 17 to an address, which was redacted on official reports, within District 5, meaning he would not have resided within the district for the requisite six months required by the city charter to serve as the City Council member for that district.
https://floridapolitics.com/archives/746708-orlando-gudes-withdraws-from-tampa-city-council-special-election-following-residency-questions/