Miami Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones will not be allowed to run for a third term come November, the Miami Herald reported.
The Third District Court of Appeal ruled Wednesday that even though Spence-Jones missed 21 months of her second term because of a suspension, she had already met the city's term limits.
"We conclude Commissioner Spence-Jones was elected and qualified within the meaning of the charter, to two full terms despite her temporary suspension. Accordingly, she is barred from seeking reelection for a third consecutive term,” the court said.
Spence-Jones was suspended during her second term by the governor as she battled two felony charges from the state. One charge has been dropped and she beat the other one, the newspaper reported. She represents Miami's District 5, which runs from Overtown south through Allapattah, Little Haiti and into Liberty City.
The court's ruling ends a four-month lawsuit between Spence-Jones and the Rev. Richard P. Dunn II, the newspaper reported.
Dunn’s attorney, J.C. Planas, told the newspaper Wednesday that he was happy “the Third DCA agreed with the importance of term limits.”
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