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Highlands Today

Bill: Election Supervisor Should Be Nonpolitical

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By GARY PINNELL

Highlands Today

Published: February 26, 2009

SEBRING - Highlands County Elections Supervisor Joe Campbell is a Democrat. His top assistant, Norma Stokes, is a Republican.

That he's from one party and she's from another wasn't their attempt at non-partisanship, it just worked out that way, he said Wednesday.

But both Campbell and Stokes support S536, introduced by Sen. Charlie Justice, D-St. Petersburg. The proposed law would make all supervisors of elections non-partisan offices.

"We need to take the politics out of this office," Justice told the Tampa Tribune last week. "Our highest elections officials should not be concerned with politics, but preserving the integrity of the voting process."

"That's the way I always thought it should be," Campbell agreed.

Campbell has never allowed himself, his staff, or poll workers to talk politics. If he's invited, he'll speak at meetings of the political parties. But when candidates come to his office, Campbell reminds each one, "Whatever I tell you, I'll tell your opponents. And that's the way it should be."

And he's never liked the partisan appearance of the canvassing board, which consists of a Democrat, a Republican, and a judge who is elected as a non-partisan, but may be well known as previously belonging to one party before that election.

During the 2004 election, Campbell recalled, there were newspaper photos of Palm Beach elections officials examining hanging chads, deciding whether to count this ballot or that. People across the nation asked, is that official a Democrat or a Republican? A presidential election hung in the balance, and it was eventually decided by a partisan Florida Secretary of State, Katherine Harris.

Not everyone agrees non-partisanship is a good idea. Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey: "I'm a big believer that the electorate needs to know your philosophy, and how you're going to manage the office."

Should other constitutional offices be nonpartisan as well?

Susan Benton, a Democrat, was elected in November to a second term as Highlands County sheriff. For years, she has said partisanship adds nothing useful to the process.

"In my personal opinion, it adds strife and divisiveness to the office of sheriff, particularly," Benton said. Sheriffs, she said, need to equally enforce the laws, regardless of political parties or economic conditions.

"The sheriff needs to be an objective fact finder," Benton said.

She has only one objection to S536: Benton doesn't like legislative mandates. She'd prefer a local option, so Highlands County can decide for itself if it wants a non-partisan elections supervisor.

Andy Tuck chairs the Highlands County school board and the Republican Party, but sees no reason for Benton's local option proposal. Ironically, as a school board member, he's elected as a non-partisan.

"To me, I think the one position that ought to be mandatory non-partisan is the elections supervisor," Tuck said. "I never understood why it was a partisan election."

Currently, only five counties - Polk, Columbia, Volusia, Leon and Palm Beach - have nonpartisan election chiefs. Miami-Dade County appoints its election supervisors.

Highlands Today senior reporter Gary Pinnell can be reached at 863-386-5828 or gpinnell@highlandstoday.com

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