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Strip The Party Politics From Supervisor Post

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 25, 2009

State Sen. Charlie Justice, D-St. Petersburg, is sponsoring smart legislation that would make county election supervisors nonpartisan jobs and, as in the case of trial judges, prohibit political parties or groups from endorsing or supporting candidates in their campaigns.

Anyone who doubts the necessity of the change need only consider former Hillsborough Supervisor of Elections Buddy Johnson, whose political affiliations got him appointed to a job he thoroughly botched - spending too much money, losing ballots and mangling election returns. His actions now are being investigated by the FBI.

There have been other attempts to make the elections supervisors nonpartisan, but they have failed. This year, however, the bill should move forward. It passed out of the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee last week.

Making the office nonpartisan would demonstrate state's determination to avoid a conflict of interest - or the appearance of one - among those who operate the machinery of democracy.

Remember our history. After the 2000 election, then-Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris, the state's chief elections officer, was accused of political partisanship because her rulings favored George W. Bush.

Fair or not, the criticism resonated among Al Gore's supporters because Harris was honorary chair of the president's campaign. She was a natural target for the disgruntled, disappointed and suspicious.

Johnson provides another powerful case for a nonpartisan supervisor. After a disastrous tenure marked by scathing stories detailing his mismanagement, he lost a close election to Phyllis Busansky last year.

Although Johnson has not been accused of using his position to influence any election other than his own, there never has been much question about his political allegiance. As a Republican politician in the 1990s, he represented Plant City in the Florida Legislature, eventually earning a role as House floor leader. He tried to protect school prayer, ban nudity and prevent gay marriage.

Largely because of his conservative credentials, then-Gov. Jeb Bush appointed him to the elections post when Pam Iorio resigned to run for mayor.

Johnson won the office in his own right and with his party's backing in 2004.

Given his track record on the job, it seems clear many voters backed Johnson solely because of his politics, not his performance.

A post-2000 task force appointed by Bush charged with proposing remedies to the ills of Florida's voting system took aim at the state's reliance on partisan elections supervisors.

The Governor's Select Task Force on Election Procedures, Standards and Technology in March 2001 put it bluntly: "Election supervisors should not be elected on a partisan basis."

This does not necessarily mean that no former politicians should be elected to the job, but their campaigns should be based on their qualifications, not their political beliefs.

Reason: "Voters must see and perceive the reality of a free and fair election, administered neutrally."

Bush endorsed the report's conclusions, but lawmakers thought otherwise.

This year, legislators should show they are more concerned about fair elections than party dominance and support Justice's bill.

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