COLLIER COUNTY, FLA — Attorney James Molenaar says he got an unusual welcome when he walked into work at the Collier County Clerk of Court & Comptroller that's Tuesday morning.
"I went to the office, I opened the doors and in the hallway sat the clerk and the finance director," said Molenaar.
He adds that what his now former boss, the clerk of court said next is what really took him by surprise.
"She stands up and looks at me says 'I assume you're going to resign to run,'" said Molenaar, "I said 'No the law doesn't require me to resign to run.' and she says 'No, you're done!'"
With that Molenaar was officially out of a job.
He says this all started because he filed paperwork on Friday, to run against his former boss, Crystal Kinzel, in the upcoming August primary.
"I was taken aback by that," said Molenaar.
But Molenaar says Kinzel should have known he'd be running.
He claims the pair spoke about his 2020 candidacy back in 2018, when the former clerk of courts Dwight Brock died while in office.
"She and I discussed whether she wanted to run for the position or I wanted to run for the position. She said she guessed she would do it. I said 'okay.' she said she only wanted to do two years, she only wanted to complete the jobs and tasks that he had already started. Then she said she was going to step away," said Molenaar.
Kinzel released the following statement to Fox 4:
"Jim’s role was as Deputy Clerk and Legal Counsel. As legal counsel, there is an expectation that he represents me and my office. In fact, he signed a sworn oath to “well and faithfully perform” his duties. It was apparent that filing to run for Clerk was in direct conflict with this oath and his duties.
To protect the integrity of the office and avoid disruption to our operations, his departure was best."
In a response, Molenaar's campaign manager says that statement is false:
"Mr. Molenaar was performing his role without issue as Deputy Clerk and Senior Legal Counsel. He has conducted himself with the utmost integrity. There was never a conflict as politics in the workplace was strictly prohibited. There are no internal policies or laws that would prevent him from running for office, nor did he ever have a job description that would state otherwise. There is also no evidence that there would have been any disruption. It is believed that Mrs. Kinzel did this for her own personal gain."
Molenaar says he still plans to run against Kinzel.
"If losing my job helps the taxpayers and helps the people of collier county get back on their feet and make collier county better again after the virus, then it's all worth it to me," he said.
The primary election is scheduled for August 18.
