As expected, the battle over whether former City Commissioner Frank Carollo can stay on Miami\u2019s runoff ballot isn\u2019t over.<\/p>\n
One day after a Miami-Dade Circuit Judge ruled Carollo could remain<\/a> in the Dec. 9 contest despite new lifetime term limits that would otherwise bar him from holding office, the plaintiffs in the case are appealing.<\/p>\n Miami voters Victor Milanes, Alex Almirola and Oscar Alejandro \u2014 the latter of whom placed third on Nov. 4 behind Carollo and runoff candidate Rolando Escanola for the Commission\u2019s District 3 seat \u2014 have filed a notice of appeal<\/a> for the ruling.<\/p>\n The notice, filed Thursday morning with the 3rd District Court of Appeal, again names lawyers J.C. Planas and Natalie Kano as the plaintiffs\u2019 legal representation.<\/p>\n Those on the service list include Carollo\u2019s lawyer, Robert Fernandez; Lydecker partner Forrest Andrews, who is representing Miami; Assistant City Attorney Eric Eves; Miami-Dade Elections General Counsel Oren Rosenthal; Escalona\u2019s lawyer, Peter Solnick; and lawyers representing mayoral runoff<\/a> candidates Emilio Gonz\u00e1lez and Eileen Higgins.<\/p>\n Voters this month overwhelmingly approved<\/a>\u00a0a charter amendment imposing a lifetime limit of two four-year terms for City Commissioners and Mayors, a change the plaintiffs argued should disqualify Carollo from the ballot.<\/p>\n Carollo led the Nov. 4 race for the District 3 seat with\u00a038% of the vote<\/a>, but fell short of the majority needed to win outright, placing him in a runoff with Escalona, a restaurant manager and fellow Republican who faced a separate lawsuit last month<\/a> challenging his residency bona fides.<\/p>\n