CLAY COUNTY, Fla. — A Clay County School Board member is vowing to fight back after facing calls for his resignation.
Board member Robert Alvero (District 2) spurred controversy after posting a video over the weekend in which he stated 80 percent of his experience with African Americans have been “rude,” “nasty,” and “problematic.”
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Alvero’s newly-hired attorney now argues any retaliation against Alvero would violate his client’s free speech rights.
That attorney, Anthony Sabatini, said Alvero did not intend to generalize, but was instead speaking on his own personal life experiences.
“I don’t think the comments are so-called racist in any way. I think that what we’re seeing is the reemergence of woke-ism and politically correct culture,” Sabatini said.
Sabatini has vowed to sue the school board and Florida Department of Education if Alvero faces any repercussions as a result of his comments.
He also said Alvero will be declining the Education Commissioner’s request for him to appear before the Florida Board of Education during its next meeting in January.
Sabatini argued the only elected leader with the power to punish Alvero is the Governor, but that power is limited to situations where an elected official has been charged with a crime or in cases of, “malfeasance, misfeasance, neglect of duty, habitual drunkenness, incompetence, or permanent inability to perform official duties.”
“Very specific reasons, none of which apply here,” Sabatini said.
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And while Sabatini noted Alvero has significantly stronger First Amendment protections in terms of his role as an elected official, he’s also vowed to sue Alvero’s two employers should they take any action against him.
Action News Jax has confirmed the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department and the Florida State Guard have already launched investigations into Alvero over his comments, and JFRD has gone as far as putting him on administrative duty.
“If they have issues with his comments they can criticize his comments, they can engage in dialogue with him, but if they’re seeking to use the power of the state to punish him they’re gonna lose,” Sabatini said.
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In light of Alvero retaining legal counsel, we reached back out to Clay County School Board Chair Erin Skipper (District 1) for comment.
She referred us back to the statement she released Sunday, in which she advised Alvero to consider resigning.
“The remarks do not reflect the values of our school district and are unacceptable,” Skipper wrote.
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