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Voting not a priority for some candidates
By AMY WIMMER, Times Staff Writer
Candidates on the beach are trying to get out the vote. But according to county voting records, many of them have a history of not getting out and voting. One candidate had never voted in Pinellas County until fall 2002, when his name appeared on the ballot.Another has been a registered voter since 1981, but has voted in a city election only once in those 22 years. One transferred his voter registration to Pinellas County just three months ago. Another candidate registered to vote in December for the first time in his life. Candidates offered a range of explanations for their voting records, or lack thereof. Busy lives. Moving around a lot. A lack of confidence in the process. "I never felt I could make a difference," said Bob Fountaine, 46, who registered to vote one month before qualifying to run for mayor of Redington Beach. Fountaine said he has never voted before. "When I vote for somebody, what do I know about them?" So far this election season, voting records have become an issue in at least two races, including Fountaine's against former Redington Beach Mayor Ramona Updegraff and former Redington Beaches Police Chief Charles Haggerty. In Redington Beach, Town Commission candidate David Dubin formally questioned whether Fountaine can run for election when he registered to vote only one month before qualifying to run. Redington Beach's town charter stipulates candidates must be a "qualified elector of the town for at least one year prior to the election." Town Clerk Larry Bittner interpreted that provision to mean Fountaine needed to be a legal resident, not a registered voter, effectively allowing Fountaine to remain in the race. And in Redington Shores, where Mel Kaplani is taking on Roy Scarpitta for the District 3 Town Commission seat, public records raise questions about Kaplani's short tenure both as a Pinellas voter and a town resident. Kaplani, who acknowledges that he has long split his time between Riverview, Mich., and Redington Shores, says he has been a permanent resident of Redington Shores for eight or nine months. He carries a Michigan driver's license, has never declared a homestead exemption in Redington Shores and just registered to vote in November, days after former District 3 Commissioner Clell Miller died in November and Kaplani decided to pursue his seat. Town Clerk Donna Draper said Kaplani's residency will be investigated only if another candidate complains about it. Kaplani signed an oath in January, pledging that he had lived in Redington Shores for the six months preceding his qualification for office. "He has sworn to it, so that's on his shoulders," Draper said. Kaplani said he has spent more than six months out of each year in Redington Shores since 1998, and he plans to get a Florida driver's license when automobile insurance expires on his birthday later this month. He said he is financially secure and never needed to declare a homestead exemption on his waterfront home in Redington Shores. "I'm so financially well that it doesn't make a difference for me," he said. Redington Beach resident Gladys Rock had harsh criticism for Fountaine at a candidates forum last week, where she questioned why he registered to vote only weeks before qualifying to run for office. Fountaine, 46, who has lived in Redington Beach for four and a half years, registered to vote Dec. 26. "I never felt I could get enough information to get to know somebody and make an impact," Fountaine said. Richard Bennett, who is running for town commissioner in North Redington Beach, said he believes his voting record is more a reflection of his short tenure in Pinellas County than poor civic involvement. He moved to North Redington Beach four years ago and registered to vote in July 2001, when he transferred his driver's license to Florida. He first voted in Pinellas County in September 2002, when he was running for Pinellas County School Board. He lost in the primary, then voted again in the general election two months later. Carol Clark, a current city commissioner in South Pasadena, has lived in the city since 1999 but never voted in a city race until her name appeared on the ballot in 2002. She said she and her husband moved around a lot in the years before they settled in South Pasadena, so she was not politically involved in the past. Scarpitta, Kaplani's opponent in Redington Shores, has been registered to vote since 1981. He has voted in each gubernatorial and presidential race since 1984, but only once turned out for a municipal election -- a runoff in 1990. "I'd rather not vote and not make a mistake," said Scarpitta, adding that his busy work schedule as a Publix store manager made politics a low priority, "than just see someone's poster and vote for them." In Treasure Island Nov. 5, when voters cast ballots to give themselves unprecedented power over future development on the island, 59 percent of voters showed at the polls. According to county records, all 11 candidates running for office Tuesday in Treasure Island voted in that election. -- Times correspondent Sheila Mullane Estrada contributed to this report.
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