Backlash Builds: Citizens Mobilizing to Recall Commissioners Over Downtown Parking Fees

This is the profile photo of the group's Facebook page

Opposition to Fernandina Beach's plan to implement paid parking in the historic downtown area has sparked a grassroots effort to recall two city commissioners — Tim Poynter and Genece Minshew — over their support of the policy.

A Facebook group titled Fernandina Beach Commissioner Recall Petition Group launched Sunday and has already attracted nearly 500 members. Group administrator Mark Swope has scheduled an organizational meeting for Nov. 8 at noon at Shuckers Restaurant in Yulee.

Swope, a former city employee who served as superintendent of the municipal golf course for nearly two years before stepping down in May, declined to comment in detail. “Thanks for reaching out. At this time, I don't have any information I can offer you,” he said in a Facebook message to The Observer.

Veteran Fernandina Beach attorney and state lobbyist Buddy Jacobs said this recall campaign is unprecedented in Nassau County. “I don’t believe it’s ever happened,” Jacobs said.

Mark Swope

Also advising the effort is local Facebook influencer Mac Morriss, a prominent figure in the successful No Paid Parking petition campaign that secured a spot on the 2026 ballot.

“I’m not part of the recall effort team, and it’s not appropriate for me to comment,” Morriss told The Observer. However, in a post within the group, he clarified his role: “Please be patient — this team hasn't met for the first time yet. We still need to complete basic paperwork to create the necessary recall petition and open a bank account for donations. My role is as a consultant. This is my second grassroots petition and affidavit initiative.”

Florida law makes recalling elected city officials significantly more difficult than launching a referendum. Under Florida Statute 100.361, residents can initiate a recall of municipal officials like city commissioners, but the process is tightly regulated.

The process for recalling a public official in Florida are the following:

• Grounds for Recall: Must be based on specific reasons such as malfeasance, misfeasance, neglect of duty, incompetence, permanent inability to perform duties, or conviction of a felony.

• A city commissioner must have served for one-quarter of their elected term (in Fernandina Beach 4 years) before initial petitions are submitted. That would be December of this year.

• Initial Petition Phase: Within 30 days of the first signature, organizers must collect signatures equal to 5% of the city’s registered voters to trigger the legal recall process.

• Final Petition Phase: Once approved to proceed, organizers then have 60 days to gather signatures from 15% of the city’s registered voters.

Petitions must be submitted to the Fernandina Beach City Clerk, then validated by the Nassau County Supervisor of Elections.

The 30-day time frame stands in contrast to the No Paid Parking campaign, which faced no firm deadline and gathered 1,700 signatures over three months.

Four of the five city commissioners — Poynter, Minshew, Joyce Tuten, and Mayor James Antun — voted in favor of the plan. Only Vice Mayor Darron Ayscue has opposed it.

Commissioners have defended the paid parking program as a necessary revenue source to fund major infrastructure projects. Among them: construction of a flood protection wall along the Amelia River, demolition of the now-closed Brett’s Waterway Cafe, reconstruction of the Fernandina Harbor Marina docks, and upgrades to downtown streetscapes and lighting. The cost of these capital improvements is expected to reach into the tens of millions of dollars. Commissioners said that paid parking would generate critical revenue without raising taxes.

Meanwhile, negotiations continue between the city and One Parking on a final contract, which must also be approved by the City Commission.