Primary Election: Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections

Editor’s note: As the Aug. 14 primary election nears, the Longboat Observer will be publishing short profiles and Q&A segments from each of the candidates who will represent Manatee and Sarasota counties.

In this week’s issue, we feature candidates for Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections. For complete responses from all primary election candidates, visit YourObserver.com.
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The normally sedate, mundane race for Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections is one of the most heated local races this year, pitting two long-time, successful Sarasota politicians against each other.
It did not appear it was going to be this way. Kathy Dent, supervisor for 12 years, was running uncontested for the mostly administrative position. She wasn’t campaigning or even fundraising. But a court ruling that enforced the voter-approved term limits blocked Sarasota County Commissioner Jon Thaxton from running for a fourth term.

Thaxton had a political war chest of nearly $70,000, and he turned it on the Supervisor of Elections Office. Dent, at that moment, had raised less than $2,000 with no opposition. It is almost an issueless campaign between the two, because the job is not policy-related so much as ministerial.

Thaxton, who has cultivated a career as a calm, mild-mannered politician often focused on environmental and growth issues, wasted no time going negative — something that is considered a near-necessity in unseating a well-known incumbent.

Thaxton criticized Dent for the well-known controversy over the touch-screen voting machines in 2006 that resulted in thousands of under votes, and her lesser-known decision to deny a recount to a Charter Review Board candidate in 2010. He has made it personal against Dent, charging incompetence and a lack of personal integrity overall in her office.

“I think the integrity (issue) goes a little further than just the machines,” Thaxton says in debates, referring to the ill-fated touch-screens six years ago.

Dent, clearly taken aback by the attacks on her, was on the defensive at first. But more recently she has come back swinging.

She has criticized Thaxton for wrong priorities, taking shots at his status as a layman expert on the endangered scrub jays and being uninformed about the duties of the elections office. Further, she said he was just playing politics with the voting machine issue because he voted to approve buying them as a county commissioner.

Both Dent and Thaxton have loyal supporters and high name recognition. In the final quarter campaign finance filing, Dent has raised nearly $15,000 and loaned her campaign $16,000. Thaxton has raised about $11,000 in the same quarter. The candidates each have about $26,000 in their accounts to spend in the final weeks.

The office pays $116,000 annually.

Name: Kathy Dent
Age: 62
Family: Married to attorney, John Dent. Five children and eight grandchildren
Hometown: Born in Butler, Pa. — raised in Callensburg, Pa.
Education: Bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Pittsburgh, post-graduate work at the University of South Florida
Relevant experience: Elected Supervisor of Elections in 2000, then again in 2004 and 2008; Co-chair of the Florida State Association of Supervisor of Elections’ Education and Training Committee 2002-04
Website: http://www.KathyDent.com/

What would be your top priorities if elected? 
My priorities, if elected, are to continue to serve the voters of Sarasota County with the same dedication and commitment that I have done over the past, almost 12, years in office. I will continue to be non-partisan, keep politics out of the office and to administer all of the laws regarding elections from the federal and state levels. Sarasota County deserves an elections professional, and I have the qualifications and experience to provide that.

Do you favor the current system of primaries, or would you like them changed to closed primaries?
Right now, we have closed primaries in the state of Florida. It would take a legislative act to make that change, and it is highly unlikely that either party would want to give up the ability to select the candidates that represent them in the general election.
 
Do new and fewer precincts need to be created or should there be more? 
The voting trend in the state of Florida is toward absentee (vote by mail) and early voting. In the 2008 election, 60% of Sarasota voters had voted before we ever opened the polls on Election Day. Because of this state-wide trend, supervisors of elections in Florida have reduced the number of precincts by an average of 34%. Sarasota County has done this consolidation, too, and will save the taxpayers $100,000 per election. At the same time, we will be providing the type of voting that the majority of the voters want.
     
What makes you a better candidate than your opponent?
The fact that I am true professional elections administrator. I have conducted 88 elections in my tenure in office and have amassed hundreds of hours of continuing education. I am certified as an elections administrator at both the national and state levels. I have served as president of our state supervisors of elections association. Besides my professional qualifications, I have a passion for the job. Conducting elections get in your blood and then you never want to do anything else.

Name: Jon Thaxton
Age: 54
Family: Married to wife, Dru
Hometown: Sarasota
Education: Self-employed businessman since graduating from Venice High School.
Relevant experience: Managed family-owned real-estate office; served 12 years as a county commissioner; have extensive experience in making difficult decisions, establishing trust and being accountable to the electorate
Website:  jonthaxton.net

What would be your top priorities if elected?
My top priority will be to restore transparency and accountability to the Supervisor of Elections position and improve communication between the supervisor and the electorate. As a county commissioner, I have earned the trust from many groups on opposing sides of an issue. This took a lot of hard work, a willingness to listen to all opinions and the conviction to make tough decisions and disciplined stands.
I established my reputation for fairness by always being prepared, transparent and objective. These skills have enabled me to become an effective and trusted county commissioner, known for treating citizens equally and with respect. My goal is for the candidates and the issues to dominate the headlines, not the supervisor of elections.

Do you favor the current system of primaries, or would you like them changed to closed primaries?
I favor the Florida Constitution. Our state constitution was overwhelmingly amended by the voters to require open primaries: “If all candidates for an office have the same party affiliation and the winner will have no opposition in the general election … ”

A loophole was created to keep primaries closed when a Florida Division of Election’s staff member interpreted the intent and will of the voters by suggesting that a write-in candidate is “opposition” to candidates whose names actually appear on the ballot. In one case, a Democratic candidate used her own mother as a write-in candidate to close the primary. In another, a candidate hand-delivered her opponent’s paperwork to the elections office to qualify him as a write-in candidate, again closing the primary. This conflict needs to be resolved by elected legislators, or the voters, not an appointed bureaucrat in Tallahassee.

Do new and fewer precincts need to be created, or should there be more?
As voters move more and more toward absentee ballots and early voting, the need for precincts will decrease. Strategically designed new precinct boundaries will improve efficiencies and save taxpayers’ money, while still maintaining access to the traditional voting on Election Day at the polls for those who prefer it.

What makes you a better candidate than your opponent?
A supervisor of elections needs to be considered by the electorate as a fair-minded, impartial official; able to maintain open and civil communications with multiple and widely varied groups and political parties. By treating people with respect, maintaining open communications and being attentive to the needs of the community as a whole, I believe that I have attained this difficult-to-reach goal.

Last year, I was recognized with top awards from the Coalition of Business Associations and the Gulf Coast Business Exchange for my efforts on preserving Florida jobs and its economy. I was also recognized with top awards from the Florida Wildlife Federation and the Audubon Society, for my work in preserving Florida’s natural environment. The division between these two groups is wide, and rarely do they agree. However, they all agreed that my management style and leadership abilities on significant state issues was deserving of their highest recognition.