A controversy brewing in Manatee County has led to a tug-of-war over whether or not to hold an election. The Manatee County Supervisor of Elections has been sued in a Florida Circuit court over a local school board seat. The District 5 seat on the Manatee County School Board is at the center of the issue. The incumbent Richard Tatem announced his resignation at the end of May to run for the Florida House District 72 seat. Now, the former school board Chair James T. Golden wants to run for that seat but said the Supervisor of Elections denied his candidacy despite having met all the requirements to qualify to run. "The law requires that since his resignation was submitted more than 10 days before the qualifying, then there must be an election for that seat also," James T. Golden, former chair of Manatee County School Board, said. Golden who is a Democrat, has accused the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections James Satcher, a Republican, of unilaterally determining not to hold elections to allow the governor to appoint an ally to the seat. MORE: https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/manateecounty/manatee-county-school-board-lawsuit-vacant-seat/67-52781b19-21cb-4491-ba69-1f39ab94760a ►Subscribe: https://on.wtsp.com/youtube ►Website: https://www.wtsp.com/ ►Facebook: https://facebook.com/10TampaBay ►X: https://twitter.com/10TampaBay