PALM BAY MAYOR SUSPENDED OVER CRIMINAL PAST

PALM BAY (AP) - The controversial mayor of Palm Bay has been suspended by
Gov. Jeb Bush because he lost his civil rights, including the right to vote,
after felony drug convictions.

John Mazziotti served more than two years in a federal penitentiary for a
1971 marijuana trafficking conviction in Pennsylvania and a 1972 conviction
for smuggling amphetamines across the Canadian border.

The decision to suspend Mazziotti was made a week after Brevard County's
election supervisor removed him from the voter rolls because of the drug
convictions. That decision followed a ruling in January by a Brevard County
judge that Mazziotti should be removed from the voter rolls.

The Florida Constitution forbids anyone convicted of a felony from holding
public office unless their civil rights have been restored, Bush said in an
order issued late Thursday.

"The governor made his decision and we'll abide by it," Mazziotti told
Florida Today. "We have applied for clemency and hopefully it will work out."

Mazziotti's political future now rests with a clemency board which can
restore his civil rights and has scheduled a hearing for September.

Deputy Mayor Ed Geier will serve as acting mayor during the interim.