SUAREZ, J.
This appeal is taken from a declaratory judgment finding the City of Miami Charter precludes the appellant, City Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones, from seeking reelection for a third consecutive term. On appeal, as below, the parties dispute the effect of the charter provision stating, "[N]o mayor or city commissioner elected and qualified for two consecutive full terms shall be eligible for reelection in the next succeeding term." Miami, Fla. Charter, Part I.A. § 4(b). Commissioner Spence-Jones argues she is permitted to seek reelection for a third consecutive term because her temporary suspension
Commissioner Spence-Jones was elected to the Miami City Commission for her first full term on November 29, 2005. She was re-elected for a second full term and sworn into office on November 12, 2009. The following day, she was temporarily suspended from office by executive order of the governor. She was elected to fill her own vacancy at the resulting special election but was again suspended by executive order. The City Commission then appointed the appellee, Richard Dunn, to fill the vacancy. On August 24, 2011, the governor restored Commissioner Spence-Jones to office following her acquittal of the subject charges. She received full back pay and the emoluments and allowances for the period of her suspension. Commissioner Spence-Jones is presently completing her second term and has filed a Statement of Candidacy for the November 2013 elections. Mr. Dunn brought the present action seeking to declare her ineligible for re-election, alleging it would constitute an impermissible third consecutive term. The trial court, in a well-reasoned order, determined the City Charter did, in fact, preclude Commissioner Spence-Jones from seeking re-election for the next succeeding term. We agree and affirm.
The sole issue on appeal is a question of statutory interpretation. We find no ambiguity in the charter provision. As such, we are required to interpret it according to its plain meaning. St. Petersburg Bank & Trust Co. v. Hamm, 414 So.2d 1071, 1073 (Fla.1982). The phrase "elected and qualified" relates to a candidate's qualifications to run for office. See Holley v. Adams, 238 So.2d 401, 405 (Fla. 1970) ("[Q]ualified means the performance of the acts which the person chosen is required to perform before he can enter into office.").
Conspicuously absent from this list of qualifications is any mention of a gubernatorial suspension pursuant to section 112.51. Under the charter, such suspension does not disqualify a person from seeking election to the office of City Commissioner. Indeed, while suspended, Commissioner Spence-Jones qualified under the Charter and was elected to fill her own vacancy, only to be once again suspended by the governor. Thus, even though suspended, she was "qualified" to seek and obtain election. The term limitation cannot be read to permit a commissioner to seek election to a third consecutive term simply because, although elected and qualified for two full terms, the commissioner failed to serve each day of those terms.
We conclude Commissioner Spence-Jones was elected and qualified, within the meaning of the charter, to two full terms despite her temporary suspension. Accordingly, she is barred from seeking reelection for a third consecutive term.
Affirmed.