Orange City residents trying to give commissioner the boot

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — An effort by some Orange City residents to remove a city commissioner from power has stalled.

Orange City Commissioner Tom Abraham isn't going anywhere – at least not this year.

An effort to collect signatures by a recall committee won't be happening for months.

"My supporters are coming and telling me that they are glad I did not apologize or resign, that they will be supporting me in that fight," Abraham said.

Paul Rasch, who once ran against Abraham, is leading the fight to remove him. He started it when city leaders rebuked Abraham and took away his city iPad, which he was using to send sexual emails with pictures he took of women.

Rasch said despite his behavior, removing Abraham is not so easy.

"You don't really want to just go out there willy-nilly and say, 'OK, we're going to recall everybody,' so it turns out it's quite a process," Rasch said.

It requires forming a committee, then collecting signatures from citizens two different times, and then giving Abraham the chance to defend himself.

Rasch must hire an attorney just to interpret the laws behind it all. Abraham said he plans to hire one as well.

"He has been defeated three times in this country and he is going to be defeated again," Rasch said.

WFTV