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3 Pinellas County Offices On Ballot

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By STEPHEN THOMPSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 20, 2008

Newcomers are challenging longtime incumbents in two of the three elections for constitutional offices in Pinellas County – the race for sheriff and for supervisor of elections.

In the third race, for property appraiser, the Democrat is trying to paint the Republican as an incumbent because of her long working association with the man she aims to replace.

Sheriff

Randall Jones, an 18-year veteran, resigned from his job as a deputy with the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office to take on the man at the top of the organization, Jim Coats.

Jones said Coats has failed to stay in touch with his troops and the community, to bring financial responsibility to the office and to rein in what Jones says is an increase in violent crimes.

Coats scoffs at the allegations, saying many of them are misleading.

Coats, sheriff since 2004, said he remains in touch, in part, through his work on the boards of organizations including the Boys and Girls Club, the Pinellas County Health and Human Services Council, and the Pinellas County Education Foundation. He also works with the NAACP and neighborhood groups.

Jones faulted the sheriff for increasing his legal staff by three lawyers. But Coats defends the move, saying it has reduced the risk budget by $1.4 million as his legal team fights claims made against the sheriff's office or works to recoup money from those who have driven into deputies' squad cars.

Jones also says the numbers of murders, robberies, aggravated assaults and burglaries have gone up in Coats' jurisdiction. But Coats says Jones' numbers are for the entire county, which is misleading.

Cities with their own police departments – such as St. Petersburg, Clearwater and Largo – are responsible for their own crime rates.

When one looks at Coats' jurisdiction – the unincorporated areas, plus the smaller municipalities that contract with his office for police protection – crime has gone down 27 percent in the ten years Coats has served as either deputy sheriff or sheriff, he said.

"He misleads the public," Coats said of Jones. "He has no substance to his own qualifications so all he can do is attack me."

Coats held a variety of positions at the sheriff's office while he worked his way up through the ranks; and twice, then-Gov. Lawton Chiles asked him to temporarily take over two beleaguered sheriff's offices in the state.

Jones never made it past the rank of corporal. In November 2004, Jones took the sergeant's test but failed. In a system that also takes into account education, tenure and specialized assignments, he was ranked 120 out of 121 candidates for the promotion, according to the sheriff's public information office.

The race also has a write-in candidate, Greg Pound.

Property Appraiser

Democrat Ben Friedlander is trying to taint opponent Pam Dubov by association because she served as deputy to longtime appraiser Jim Smith, who decided not to seek re-election.

Smith made the decision as he was under fire for a land deal in which the county commission agreed to pay him $225,000 for a parcel he owned, even though his own office assessed it at $59,400 for tax purposes.

Friedlander, a real estate agent, also says Smith put the value of the 1.4-acre lot at $179,800 in financial disclosure forms required by the state ethics commission.

Friedlander said Dubov should be held accountable. "She's too close not to realize all this," he said.

Dubov said she advised Smith against the sale, but the advice was not taken. One reason the assessed value was lower than the sales price was that only a portion of the lot was buildable, she said, but she knew it would be tough explaining that to the public.

Friedlander also said Smith's office has interpreted the state law on how property appraisers assess land in a way that forces owners to pay more than they should in taxes.

He is referring to Smith's interpretation of the "highest and best use" standard, under which a small hotel might get hit with the same tax bill as a high-rise condo because the property could in theory be used for the more intensive use.

In general, assessed values are too high, especially in light of the deteriorating economy, Friedlander says. "People cannot sell their homes for what they are being taxed on it," Friedlander said.

Dubov said she also sympathizes with those bearing unfair tax burdens, particularly small businesses and owners of rental property. But, she said, the best way to deal with the "highest and best use" standard is to eliminate it through the Legislature.

In her view, she is well-prepared to help make such a change.

Dubov has served 16 years as the county's chief deputy property appraiser, garnering experience carrying out the changing will of state lawmakers, she said. Her opponent has worked exclusively as a real estate agent, she said.

Supervisor of Elections

Democratic challenger Jack Killingsworth, an electrical engineer, accuses incumbent Deborah Clark of closing the door on voters. He said she did this by taking felons off the voting rolls in 2000, and, more recently, by limiting early voting sites.

"She hasn't done a good job in keeping the gateway to democracy open to everyone," Killingsworth said.

Clark defended her record and said Killingsworth misstated her actions.

What she really did, she said, was to determine that valid voters were being taken off the rolls in an effort to remove felons so she stopped the review practice in 2001, the year after she was first elected.
As for early voting, she defends limiting the number of locations by pointing out it's cost-effective.

But Killingsworth said many people can't go to any of the three early voting offices from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. because they work during that eight-hour period. He said he thinks more locations are needed.

Some of this is beyond Clark's control, she said. For instance, she said, under state law, she is only allowed to offer early voting eight hours a day, Monday through Friday.

She said she decided after the 2006 elections to eliminate remote early-voting locations, leaving just the three elections offices, because so few people used them. Mail-in ballots have proven a much cheaper alternative.

Clark had no comment on Killingsworth's abilities.

"I have 30 years' election administration experience," she said. "I think that pretty much says it."

Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at (727) 451-2336 or spthompson@tampatrib.com.

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