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This election sign spells controversy

A sign erected by the wife of Oldsmar's mayor prompts the question: Can a member of the city's election canvassing board openly support a candidate?

By TAMARA EL-KHOURY
Published February 12, 2006

OLDSMAR - Election season's latest controversy has landed in Mayor Jerry Beverland's front yard.

Well, half his yard, he says.

As Beverland sees it, the other half belongs to his wife, Wanda, who is adamant about her right to place re-elect Jim Ronecker signs on the lot the couple jointly own at 600 Shore Drive W.

Ronecker's opponent for Oldsmar City Council Seat 1, former council member Brian Michaels, wasn't so sure.

Michaels asked City Clerk Lisa Lene if a member of the city's election canvassing board can openly support a candidate.

The city charter states that the City Council sits as the municipal canvassing board. The canvassing board's job is to certify the results of an election, certify any testing done on equipment and canvass the provisional and absentee ballots, Lene said.

To avoid conflicts of interest, the City Council replaces canvassing board members who are running for re-election with registered voters from the city.

Lene e-mailed Michaels' question to City Attorney Tom Trask. Trask responded that in his opinion, a canvassing board member can't openly support someone running for office to avoid appearance of impropriety or conflict.

"Is putting a sign in the yard openly supporting a candidate?" Lene said.

She still isn't sure.

No matter, says John Hubbard, who is Trask's law partner. Unless there's a specific rule on the books limiting someone's political rights to favor a candidate because they're on the canvassing board, the signs can stay up, said Hubbard, the city attorney for Dunedin, Tarpon Springs and Belleair Bluffs.

Besides, he said, Mrs. Beverland has the right to support whomever she chooses.

"His role can't limit her First Amendment rights, frankly, without something on the books specifically precluding that," he said.

The canvassing board's job is limited and administrative, Hubbard said.

"There's just no way that the modern canvassing board in Pinellas County can influence an election," Hubbard said. "It's just about impossible."

Oldsmar's sign ordinance and state statutes say nothing about canvassing board members or any other board members having election signs in their yards.

Mrs. Beverland asked Ronecker for the signs when she saw him in her neighborhood campaigning, Ronecker said.

"I didn't even give it a second thought," Ronecker said.

When he heard there was a controversy over the signs, Ronecker said he told Lene to have the signs taken down.

But Mrs. Beverland said she won't.

"I am joint owner of this property, and if I choose to place a candidate's sign in my part of the yard I will do just that," she wrote in a letter to Lene.

Michaels said he brought up the question because to his knowledge, it's never come up before.

"Typically the council is neutral," Michaels said.

At the end of Tuesday's council meeting, the mayor addressed Michaels, who was present, without naming him.

"When I ran for mayor six years ago, the family that filed against me sat on this council and openly supported my opponent," Beverland said.

Michaels went to fundraising events for Beverland's opponent, the mayor said. Beverland also said Michaels' current campaign signs and fliers were illegal.

Michaels said he would rather not comment on Beverland's allegations and that he did nothing illegal.

As for the signs, Michaels did say he fixed them by hand. The signs were in violation of state statute because they did not include the word "for" between his name and the office he is running for, Lene said.

He also fixed a petition he passed around requesting the installation of a traffic signal at Bay Arbor Boulevard and Tampa Road. The petition violated a state statute because although the petition had a statement saying it was paid for and approved by Michaels, it did not include the office he is running for, Lene said.

He also won't pursue his question about canvassing board members supporting candidates, he said.

"I'm done with the issue," he said.

- Tamara El-Khoury can be reached at tel-khoury@sptimes.com or 727 445-4181.

[Last modified February 11, 2006, 10:43:05]