Former Doral mayoral candidate Brian Creighton has been asked to step down from his position as a board member for the Doral Place master homeowners association because his association fees have not been paid for about six months.

At a Monday board meeting, association president Vicente Pena said he felt it was ''not moral or right'' that Creighton remain on the board of an association that may be forced to place a lien on his property should the overdue fees remain unpaid.

Other board members agreed and unanimously voted to ask Creighton to resign within 72 hours.

''It's rather unpleasant. I wish we didn't have to deal with this,'' Pena said at Monday night's meeting.

Creighton responded to the board's demand on Tuesday by saying he would not resign. He said in a phone interview he was being targeted because of a personal vendetta by Pena.

Creighton admitted he owes ''some back money'' to the association, attributing it to a slumping aviation business that he owns and operates. As soon as his business begins to rebound, the fees will be paid, he said.

Creighton said he should be allowed to remain on the board as long as he has residents' best interests at heart, regardless of his finances.

''That should not be a concern of the board,'' Creighton said. ``It's a matter of whether I can do the job.''

Another issue that arose at Monday's association meeting was that Creighton's wife is listed as the owner of his home, not he. Several board members felt the rules should be changed to allow only the owners themselves to serve on the board.

''You should be an owner,'' said board member Lisa Barrett. ``Otherwise, why would you care?''

In Doral's July municipal election, Creighton placed third in a three-way race, receiving 191 votes out of 1,902 cast. After the election, he said he remained a popular figure in Doral Place and that he had been asked by many residents to replace Pena as head of the homeowners association.

Creighton called Pena's efforts to oust him from the board ``a power thing.''

Creighton's fate on the board will be discussed Jan. 14. Pena said he was not trying to preserve his power by removing Creighton and that he would not seek the presidency next year.

Pena denied the community had turned against him, although he acknowledged a petition drive was organized in recent months to remove him from office. He said the petition drive was driven by misinformation and ended up going nowhere.

''Everybody's content,'' Pena said. ``Except [Creighton].''