Primary Elections: Manatee County Supervisor of Elections

Editor’s Note: As the Aug. 16 primary election draws closer, the East County Observer will be publishing profiles and Q&As from each of the candidates who will represent the East County area.

In this week’s issue, read about the candidates for Supervisor of Elections, as well as for the Manatee County Board of County Commissioners District 7 at-large seat and the Manatee County School Board District 4 seat. Responses have been edited according to space, not content. For complete responses, visit yourobserver.com.

Four Republican candidates are vying for the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections post, which is being vacated by longtime incumbent Bob Sweat. The office is responsible for conducting various elections and also for redistricting and continuing the list-maintenance process as required by state statute.

Contenders in the primary include Republicans Edward Bailey, Mike Bennett, Richard Bedford and Jane von Hahmann. Democrat Charles Williams Jr. and write-in candidate Rodney Smithley will compete in the general election against the primary winner.

Bailey is a native of Manatee County and a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps. He has chaired numerous boards, from the Manatee County Headstart Policy Council to the Manatee County NAACP, for which he served as the first Republican president of the organization.

Bedford currently serves as chairman of the Manatee County Planning Commission. He is a licensed Florida architect, contractor and developer.

Bennett, currently a Florida senator, also is a military veteran and has worked in various capacities over the years, from managing a team of more than 300 sales personnel to acquiring a failing business and making it viable.

Von Hahmann is a former Manatee County commissioner and currently works for the School Board of Manatee County as a business and industry service specialist. She is a former business owner, and has served on various community boards over the years.

Name: Edward Bailey
Age: 36
Family: Wife, Xtavia, and children, Amara, 10, and Edward Bailey Jr., 8
Hometown: Philadelphia
Education: Bayshore High School, Manatee Technical Institute, State College of Florida, Bob Hogue School of Real Estate and JM&A Finance School

Experience: In 2007, I was elected the first Republican president to lead the Manatee County NAACP. The NAACP organization has always considered voting to be a No. 1 priority, and it offers extensive training on developing civic engagement plans that target voters outreach, voter education and voter participation. Because the NAACP is a nonpartisan organization, it allowed me the ability to work with voters from all political and nonpolitical parties. I am the only candidate in this race that has this form of training.

Who is your favorite author? Robert T. Kiyosaki

If you could meet anyone dead or live, who would it be? President Abraham Lincoln

Website: electedwardbailey.com

What would be your top priorities if elected?
My top priority would be to first replace the personnel that are retiring, with new qualified personnel. Also to identify possible locations in North Manatee and East Manatee to utilize for early voting, to make the process more accessible to voters and to ensure that our office is doing everything possible to prevent voter fraud.

Do you favor the current system of open primaries, or would you like them changed to closed primaries?
I prefer closed primaries. I believe each party should pick its own candidate.

Do new and fewer precincts need to be created or should there be more?
We are fine with the current number of precincts.

What makes you a better candidate than your opponent?
I am proud to say I have never held any public office before as a policy maker, so I can honestly do the job of Supervisor of Elections without bringing any political baggage. I am not beholding to any special interest groups that have a history of trying to influence elections through money for their own personal gain. My military background as a sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps, along with my private-sector experience as a business owner and administrator, give me the necessary leadership skills and work experience to perform the daily operations of the office.

Other thoughts/comments?
As your next Manatee County Supervisor of Elections, I hope to continue the legacy of Bob Sweat and his staff by providing the same accountability and efficiency they have provided our county within the last 28 years. I will ensure that the office continues to have highly trained staff that is cross-trained on the many duties of the supervisor of elections office.

Name: Richard G. Bedford
Age: 53
Family: Married with two daughters
Hometown: Johnson City, N.Y.
Education: Bachelor’s of architecture, University of Tennessee
Relevant experience: Architecture, planning, contracts, government liaison and entitlements, consultant management, strategic planning, finance and budgeting land acquisition.

Who is your favorite author? Ayn Rand

If you could meet anyone dead or live, who would it be? George Washington

Website: facebook.com/home.php?#!/BedfordforSupervisor

What would be your top priorities if elected?
Maintaining an accurate, thorough and efficient voting process; ensuring voter rolls are current and accurate; zero-based budgeting; and increasing youth-voter education.

Do you favor the current system of open primaries, or would you like them changed to closed primaries?
The job of the Supervisor of Elections is to conduct elections based on local/state/federal statutes.

Do new and fewer precincts need to be created or should there be more?
On-going demographics research and reflecting the changes in county population should impact precinct locations and number.

What makes you a better candidate than your opponent?
The Supervisor of Elections should, to the greatest extent possible, be above all partisan politics and special interests. I am that candidate.

Other thoughts/comments?
This office requires a unique mixture of knowledge, experience, dedication and commitment. I offer all of these necessary skills. Over the years, I have been asked to run for various local elected positions. I have always declined due to the nature of politics. The office of Supervisor of Elections is different and has in the past, and should remain in the future, be above politics. For this, with my unique skills and experience, I am best suited. As long-time chairman of the Manatee County Planning Commission, I have developed the ability to engage lawyers, staff, consultants and engineers in a professional and respectful manner. More importantly, I have learned the truly invaluable role the public plays in such matters. This experience translates well to this office.

Name: Michael (Mike) Bennett
Age: 67
Family: Wife of 45 years, Dee
Hometown: Born in Brainerd, Minn.
Education: Graduated Sarasota High in 1962; bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Drake University; and post-graduate work at Iowa State University

Experience: Taught college from 1976 to 1978; started several business including, Aladdin Ward Electric and the Ellenton Ice and Sports Complex; elected to Florida House of Representatives from 2000 to 2002; and elected to Florida Senate from 2002 to present

Favorite author: Wilbur Smith

If you could meet anyone dead or live, who would it be? Thomas Jefferson

Website: facebook.com/home.php?#!/BedfordforSupervisor

What would be your top priorities if elected? 
Voter education, citizen involvement, controlling costs associated with the office and ending controversy surrounding issues such as voter purge and write-in candidates.

Do you favor the current system of open primaries, or would you like them changed to closed primaries?
The current system of closing the primary via a write-in is controversial and should be addressed by involvement with the Legislature. I have the background that would allow me to take a meaningful role in solving the issue. I absolutely agree that the supervisors can only enforce the laws as written and interpreted by the courts, but I also know that when elections go bad, the supervisors are at the front of the line, but when seeking to change current law, the supervisors’ input is often moved to the back of the line.

Do new and fewer precincts need to be created or should there be more?
I believe that the number of precincts should be adjusted based upon need. That said, as growth occurs, we may need to add in those areas of growth. But, as more and more people turn to early voting and absentees, then we must adjust downward to control cost.

What makes you a better candidate than your opponent?
I have been endorsed by (Manatee) County commissioners (John) Chappie, (Larry) Bustle, (Donna) Hayes, (Carol) Whitmore and (Robin) DiSabatino, Mayor Wayne Poston and many others. They have given me the endorsement because they know of my work ethic, organizational skills, ability to hire, train and motivate others. There is no other candidate who has the political, business and educational experience I have. I have managed multiple businesses employing up to about 200 people. I have managed budgets three to five times larger than the current supervisor’s budget. I have developed a strong reputation of managing the taxpayers’ money. I have been on the firing line of cutting the state of Florida’s budget for five years running.

Other thoughts/comments?
The current office of supervisor, as run by Bob Sweat, is considered one of the best in the state. I want to continue this tradition.

Name: Jane von Hahmann
Age: 58
Family: Husband of 37 years, Rocky. Three children: Alexander, Dustin and Eric Hometown: Born in Orlando, consider Cortez Village home. We have lived here 36 years and raised our boys here, so this is home.

Education: Bachelor’s degree from University of Central Florida; post-graduate work in education at UCF and the University of South Florida

Relevant experience: As a mother, small-business owner for 34 years and (former Manatee) county commissioner, I have managed every level of budgets — from thousands to millions (of dollars). As a former Manatee County District 3 commissioner, I have extensive experience working with state and federal legislatures on issues affecting Manatee County. As twice chairman of the County Commission, I worked with the supervisor on the canvassing committee, which oversees the election process, allowing me to get up-close and personal with the election process. And, as a candidate, I have been engaged it that part of the election system, as well.

As chairman of the Mandates Legislative Subcommittee for the Manatee County School District, I worked to achieve 100% voter participation from district employees and to educate our district family on legislative process. Also, after being the policy-maker, I quickly learned as an employee of the school district what it means to implement the policy set by elected officials.

Who is your favorite author? My favorite author is the poet Kahlil Gibran, however, my favorite book is the Bible. For recreational reading, I’ll take a James Patterson novel any time.

If you could meet anyone dead or live, who would it be? Pope John Paul II or Mahatma Gandhi because of their spirituality and views on life.
Website: electjane.net

What would be your top priorities if elected?
My top priority would be to continue the legacy of our present supervisor: a legacy of honesty, integrity, dedication and fairness to all.

My priorities would be to take a hands-on approach to my responsibilities. The voters of Manatee County deserve a full-time Supervisor of Elections who will be there day in and day out, protecting their right to vote.
I will also take a stand to retain local control. As more and more local issues are pulled away from us on a state and federal level, I will fight to keep local election issues in our control. I’ve been in office before and have worked with state and federal legislators, as well as served on numerous multi-jurisdictional boards, addressing local issues. I know and understand how to work in many governmental environments.

And I will absolutely do everything in my power to protect the election process' integrity by safeguarding voter registration, the voter database and elections against fraud by creating and implementing community outreach programs that will hold all involved organizations to an uncompromising standard free from unscrupulous practices.

Do you favor the current system of open primaries, or would you like them changed to closed primaries?
I believe each party should be allowed to elect the candidate of its choice to represent it in a general election. However, I also believe when there is no general election that all voters should have the opportunity to vote on who will represent them. The law was changed in the late 1990s to provide open primaries, but unfortunately a loophole was placed in the legislation, which provides for a write-in candidate to close a primary.

The issue here, for me, is that unlike traditional candidates, a write-in needs to do nothing to qualify save completing paperwork. They obtain no petitions, nor pay any fees to be on the ballot, and here is the loophole, because they claim no party affiliation; though they may be a registered Republican or Democrat, they go straight to the general election ballot, thereby closing the primary. Please note, I do not believe a write–in candidate has ever won an election in Manatee County, or any other county in Florida, for that fact. So, when you close a primary by a write-in, the single party represented in the primary is making the choice for all and for me that’s not representative government as our founding fathers would want it.

Do new and fewer precincts need to be created or should there be more?
In 2010 Manatee County had 128 precincts; that number has been reduced to 113. These precincts show voter rolls ranging from 358 to 4,342. I do not believe the number of precincts is an issue; possibly visiting redistricting to provide a better distribution of voters might help the precincts with the higher number.

I do believe, however, if we could look at early-voting locations, we could provide some opportunities. Now, having said that and understanding the law as presently written today, it is costly to run multiple locations. There are obstacles that must be overcome to make it cost effective. For example, with more than 382 onsite paper ballot requirements at early-voting locations (number of unique ballots for Aug. 14 primary) one can see the issues that can arise providing nightly security for this large number of ballots. If, however, at the time we visit replacing our present voting systems with newer models, we could look at also obtaining ODB (on demand ballot) printing systems, then that huge obstacle goes away, thereby we have a more cost-effective way of providing our voters more convenient early-voting location.

What makes you a better candidate than your opponent?
First, I am the only Supervisor of Elections candidate to qualify by signature, collecting 2,104 signatures to get on the ballot. My opponents all chose to pay a fee of $6,771 to get their names on the ballot. I will bring the same work ethic that got me on the ballot to work with me every day as supervisor.

As a commissioner, I was known for my willingness to hear from all sides and for my fairness in my decisions. This skill will allow me to work with all voters and organizations across all party lines.

Though none of us, as candidates for this office, have the hands-on experience specific to this office, I believe I am the most qualified for this position. I have the people, financial management and computer skills necessary to be successful. I will be the 40-hour a week, hands-on person running the office. That is what the taxpayers are paying for, not an off-site manager. Mr. Sweat did an incredible job directing this office, being responsible for all that happened on his watch. He has a great team; the team isn't leaving, only the leader is. We don't need a new team, as one of my opponents has said he would bring. The team is there, they just need a new leader, and I can be that leader.