Opinion: Seeking Iorio's successor

Pam Iorio's entry Monday into Tampa's mayoral race presents an opportunity and a challenge for Gov. Jeb Bush. The opportunity for Bush is to appoint a successor to complete the two years remaining in Iorio's term as Hillsborough County elections supervisor. The departure of Iorio, a Democrat, gives Bush his best chance yet to see a fellow Republican in the seat, and therein lies the challenge -- finding the best-qualified person for this important job regardless of party.

Iorio is widely respected across party lines for her professionalism and ethics, and the can-do attitude she brought to the 2000 election debacle helped inspire positive reforms throughout the state. Iorio brought elections into the computer age. She made campaign information accessible online, and took the lead, as the '02 elections neared, in convincing a skeptical Hillsborough County Commission of the need to invest millions of dollars in new touch-screen voting machines.

Though Iorio has long been a fixture in Tampa Democratic politics, she kept partisan intrigue away from the office and relied on the expertise of a competent staff. This might be her greatest achievement. We saw in 2000, and again last fall, most glaringly in Broward County, what happens when elections are run by officials more concerned with politics than the integrity of the vote. While Republicans and Democrats pointed fingers and traded blame, Iorio was out front, spelling out how to restore public faith in the electoral process.

Even had she not raised the bar so high, these qualities are what the governor should look for in Iorio's successor. He or she won't have much time for on-the-job training. Tampa's city election is only weeks away. Poll workers must be secured and trained and a host of issues still need sorting out, from new technology to early voting. Her successor needs more than a command of the issues. Strong leadership skills, the ability to look ahead and a record of acting impartially are what's needed during this critical time.

The governor should look beyond some of the best-connected names being mentioned for the appointment. Former Commissioners Chris Hart and Stacey Easterling, who were defeated last fall, and Tampa businessman Joe Robinson are names that come with a political base. But none has the skills or the experience to inspire confidence in the office. Bush needs to choose carefully. No governor would want to embarrass his party by setting the stage for another Broward election fiasco. Floridians have come to realize how important good elections supervisors are -- and how the state's image can rise or fall on competence of local election officials.

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