Oscar Wolfe
Oscar Wolfe (also recorded in municipal election returns as Oscar Wolff) was an Avon Park citizen, civic petitioner, and political candidate whose activism figured in two landmark Florida Supreme Court decisions spanning two decades of local municipal history.[fla-108-419][gough-1951]
The 1932–1933 City Council Recall
In late 1932, amid the economic crises of the Great Depression and municipal debt defaults, Wolfe organized a recall campaign against the members of the Avon Park City Council under Section 22 of the city’s 1927 charter (Chapter 12514).[ch-12514]
When the council refused to call the mandatory election following the certification of voter signatures by the City Clerk, Wolfe engaged attorneys James Martin Lee and Thomas A. McNicholas to secure a peremptory writ of mandamus in Highlands County Circuit Court.[fla-108-419] On 3 February 1933, the Supreme Court of Florida affirmed the writ in City Council of the City of Avon Park v. State ex rel. Oscar Wolfe (108 Fla. 419), establishing a foundational precedent holding that municipal councils have a non-discretionary ministerial duty to order recall elections once petitions are certified.[fla-108-419]
1951 Municipal Council Candidacy
Eighteen years later, Wolfe remained active in Avon Park municipal politics. In the general municipal election of 11 September 1951, he ran as a candidate for the Avon Park City Council.[gough-1951]
In the initial canvass of 15 September 1951, Wolfe did not secure one of the five highest vote totals, trailing candidates Lenny Rush, Mark Smith, W. Clifford Thomas, M. Kirkland, and J. B. Sparks.[gough-1951] However, on 25 September 1951, the incumbent council passed an unlawful resolution throwing out all 397 ballots cast in the Black precinct (Voting Place No. 2), which artificially elevated Wolfe and E. W. Gough to council seats.[gough-1951] On 20 November 1951, the Florida Supreme Court nullified the council’s action in Gough v. State ex rel. Sauls (55 So. 2d 111), restoring the original canvass and unseating the beneficiaries of the voided resolution.[gough-1951]
References
- fla-108-419 — Supreme Court of Florida, Division B, per curiam. City Council of the City of Avon Park v. State ex rel. Oscar Wolfe, 108 Fla. 419, 146 So. 188 (3 February 1933). 3 February 1933. https://static.case.law/fla/108/html/0419-01.html
- ch-12514 — Legislature of the State of Florida. Laws of Florida, Special Acts of 1927, Chapter 12514, pages 158–229 (Approved 6 June 1927). 6 June 1927. laws-of-florida-chapter-12514-1927.md
- gough-1951 — Supreme Court of Florida, Special Division B (Chapman, J.). Gough et al. v. State ex rel. Sauls et al., 55 So. 2d 111 (Fla. 1951). 20 November 1951. gough-v-state-ex-rel-sauls-1951.md
Related
- Finding: The Avon Park City Council Recall and Mandamus Litigation, 1932–1933
- Finding: 1951 Avon Park Election Candidates and 1950 Census Records
- Reference: Gough v. State ex rel. Sauls, 55 So. 2d 111 (Fla. 1951)
- Reference: Avon Park in the Florida Supreme Court, 1928 to 1934
- Entity: J. M. Lee
- Report: Who governed Avon Park — the town’s first officers of 1913, and the men and women who held its offices to 1975
Where this comes from
- Evidence
- corroborated — More than one independent source agrees.
- Review
- unverified — Drafted from sources but not yet checked by a volunteer.
- Rights
- society
Sources
- Supreme Court of Florida, Division B, per curiam, City Council of the City of Avon Park v. State ex rel. Oscar Wolfe, 108 Fla. 419, 146 So. 188 (3 February 1933) (1933)
- Legislature of the State of Florida, Laws of Florida, Special Acts of 1927, Chapter 12514, pages 158–229 (Approved 6 June 1927) (1927)
- Supreme Court of Florida, Special Division B (Chapman, J.), Gough et al. v. State ex rel. Sauls et al., 55 So. 2d 111 (Fla. 1951) (1951)
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