ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Fifth District Court of Appeals has agreed to hear oral arguments in February about the disputed 2004 Orlando mayoral race.
Since the March 2004 election, defeated candidate Ken Mulvaney has been seeking a run-off election. The dispute eventually led to the indictment of Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and three others, WESH 2 News reported.
He was suspended from office on March 11, 2005, but he was reinstated six weeks later after struck a pretrial intervention agreement that resulted in the case being dropped and no criminal trial taking place if Dyer agreed to abide by certain conditions.
Mulvaney's attorney Fred O'Neal announced Thursday that the court will hear their voter fraud lawsuit that seeks to overturn the 2004 election results. Mulvaney is requesting a new election.
The mayor is out of town on vacation but his office is playing down this latest development saying this appeal to a higher court is just part of the process. And his representatvies said they are confident that in the end, Dyer will remain mayor of Orlando.
"It is the responsibility of the appeals court to hear appeals, and an oral argument is simply the next step in the process. Mayor Dyer and the City's Canvassing Board are confident in the well-reasoned decision of the trial court, and look forward to the same decision from the appellate court upholding the clear decision of Orlando voters in the 2004 City elections," Dyer's office said in a statement.
"After nearly two years since the 2004 election, Mayor Dyer continues to focus on the future, move our vision for the City of Orlando forward, and ensure delivery of high quality services to Orlando citizens."
Mulvaney said the decision is a big and welcome surprise.
"I've spent two years of my life fighting this, and from day 1, I have maintained that there was fraud in the election," Mulvaney said. "I did say that I would fight it so that in future elections this fraud would not occur and we could have honest elections."
If the appeals court overturns the trial court's earlier decision, the court could order a run-off election.
Oral arguments have been scheduled for 9 a.m. on Feb. 1, 2006 at the court's Daytona Beach location.
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