Alfie Oakes threatens lawsuit following election disqualification

Republican Committeeman Alfie Oakes has threatened to sue Collier County Supervisor of Elections Melissa Blazier after he was disqualified from this year’s primary.

The Supervisor of Elections office claims they are only following Florida law, according to a recent article by Mahmoud Bennett of Fox 4.

“There is no indication on this form that Mr. Oakes wanted to file for state committeeman,” according to Blazier.

Oakes will not appear on the Republican primary ballot in August because he filed the incorrect papers. He was running for a second term as Collier County’s Republican State Committeeman but was disqualified owing to multiple errors, according to the Elections Office.

Fox 4 examined the documents in question.

“This is completed on the incorrect form,” Blazier explained. “State committeemen and committeewomen are required to take DSDE 305A, and he completed DSDE 301A. Furthermore, the ‘I swear or affirm that I’m a candidate for the office of’ portion is absolutely blank,” she explained.

The Supervisor of Elections office stated that this inaccurate form was filed 57 minutes before the noon deadline. They called Oakes to correct it, but by the time he arrived and fixed it, it was well after 12:00.

Despite this, Oakes feels his exclusion was politically motivated and that he should be allowed to run.

“This form is actually more detailed than the one that she called me at 11:50 and said, ‘Oh, I need you to get to the office and fill out the right form.’  Well, this form is sufficient,” Oakes said.

Oakes intends to take the issue to court.

“It’s not about me,” he replied. “Whether I am a state committeeman or not, I will wield the same political power. It’s more important to me that the right people do the right things in our local community, and Melissa Blazier is a corrupt actor in our Supervisor of Elections office,” he continued.

Tim Guerrette, who is running against Blazier for Supervisor of Elections in November, provided his perspective.

“If I were the Supervisor of Elections, I would actually have a notary ready,” Guerrette told the crowd. “I would have a series of documents, and I would be prepared for this type of thing because people do wait until the last minute to do that,” he told reporters.

Oakes eventually submitted the proper documentation, but it was eight minutes late. Blazier claims that, as a constitutional authority, she is in no position to authorize it.

Blazier replied, “I know everyone wants to know if I can bend the rules and make an exception for this. The legislation is really clear. Candidate qualification ended at 12:00 on Friday, the 14th”.

This article originally appeared on Fox 4

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