Attorneys for former Monroe County Commissioner Heather Carruthers have filed a motion, asking a judge to remove current Commissioner Eddie Martinez from his post.
Her attorneys argued Martinez did not live in the district on the general election day, when he narrowly defeated Carruthers.
Carruthers filed the civil lawsuit just weeks after the election in November, and Carruthers’ attorneys have since obtained an affidavit from Martinez’s stepdaughter supporting Carruthers’ claim. The stepdaughter, Natalie Guerra, is currently accused of assaulting Martinez and has been charged criminally.
The affidavit was included as part of the motion for summary judgment Carruthers’ attorneys filed with Chief Judge Mark Jones on Wednesday.
Guerra gave an affidavit that stated that Martinez; Guerra’s mother, Maria; and the couple’s two daughters lived at 201 Second St. in Key Largo until Nov. 20.
Martinez operated his campaign headquarters out of Key Largo and stored yard signs and other campaign materials there, Guerra said.
At that time, Martinez was recovering from multiple surgeries and had a nurse come to the home daily in Key Largo who tended to his surgical wounds, administered IVs and assisted in him in daily hygiene activities, Guerra stated in her affidavit.
“Martinez cannot and could not legally be certified as the winner of the general election for Monroe County Commissioner District 3, because he was ineligible for that office in violation of Article III, Section 1 (e) of the Florida Constitution that required him to reside in Monroe County Commissioner District 3 on the date of the election,” the motion for summary judgment stated. “Because he did not reside in Commissioner District 3 on that date, he is ineligible for office and must be removed from that position.”
Carruthers’ attorneys argued that Martinez listed his Key West office on Truman Avenue as his residence, which is not a residence, the motion stated.
“Martinez neither lived nor resided at that address on November 3, 2020 as that address was not legally capable of being considered a residence since it was a commercial establishment not an authorized as a residence,” the motion stated. “On the day of the election November 3, 2020, defendant Martinez resided with his wife at 201 2nd Street, Key Largo, Florida, a location that is undisputed to not be within Monroe County Commissioner District 3.”
The motion asks the judge to “certify Carruthers as the winning candidate due to Martinez ineligibility.”
Martinez and his attorney will have several weeks to respond to the motion and argue against it. Jones could also hold a hearing on the motion as well, so it could still be more than a month before there is a ruling in the case.
On Friday, Martinez referred comments to his attorney, Michael Halpern. Halpern had yet to review the motion when contacted on Friday and declined to comment on the case.
“I’m not going to try this case in the newspaper. I’m going to try it in court,” Halpern said.
Carruthers also filed a complaint with the Monroe County State Attorney’s Office shortly after the election. Monroe County State Attorney Dennis Ward recused himself from the criminal case, as he had been friends with Martinez, and that case is now being handled by the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office and is still pending.
