NEWS
MILT THOMAS
19th Circuit Court Judge Paul Kanarek this morning approved a request for Injunctive Relief filed by former City Council Candidate Linda Hillman. In summary, Judge Kanarek agreed that Linda Hillman was a legitimate candidate and should not have been removed from the ballot.
Hillman had filed paperwork on July 9 of this year, paid the necessary fee, and was sworn in as a candidate. The last date to file was Friday, September 7, and the Canvassing Board determined the order in which candidate names would appear on the ballot. Hillman’s name was second. Then the following Tuesday, she was disqualified for not signing one form in the candidate package. She filed suit against the Canvassing Board, which was received on September 18. The Canvassing Board then called a special public meeting for September 20. At that meeting, the Board voted 3-0 to reinstate Hillman and fellow disqualified candidate, Brian Heady. However, it was too late to produce new ballots because some had already been sent out, so it was up to City Council to schedule a new election. Instead, City Council voted 4-1 not to proceed. Hillman then filed a request for an injunction. Judge Kanarek decided this morning, after hearing from parties for and against the injunction two weeks ago, that Hillman should be granted the injunction.
Reached for comment, Hillman said, “I am very pleased that justice was served. This is the first time I have ever run for public office and I was both thrilled and motivated to have the opportunity. I feel strongly about the issues facing our great city now and hope to make a real difference in this election and in Vero’s future.”
Indian River Guardian 
I am so greatful Judge Kanarek made the decision he did. It is a shame this became an issue in the first place..
What a delightful surprise – better than getting the pony I always wanted for Christmas!
Now if the PSC overturns the give away of the electric company to FPL we can go back to square one and maybe have city councilors that think of the city residents first instead of their special insterest campaign contributors.
Excellent news.
At best, the city did not properly scan Linda’s application for errors and should have given her time to cure the fault before the deadline expired. It is strange that the fault was discovered on the very day after which it could be simply cured.
At worst, individual(s) were given unsupervised access to the application documents just prior to the error’s discovery and had every opportunity to trade signed documents for unsigned ones. One of those individual(s) almost immediately resigned his chair on a critical commission. The sequence of events is cause for concern.
In any event, it is a problem caused by the city and not the individuals who were harmed. I do not find it appropriate that the individuals should not be held responsible for the cost of a second election process unless proof of negligence is provided.