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Six contend for elections supervisor:The Democrats
By SAUNDRA AMRHEIN © St. Petersburg Times, published August 21, 2000 In one corner is a loyal assistant, toiling away on the job for more than two decades. In the other is someone without the job experience but with a strong background in management. The race for Hernando County supervisor of elections took off as soon as incumbent Ann Mau sounded the bell on her retirement after nearly 10 years in office. In the Sept. 5 Democratic primary election, Annie Williams, who has worked in the elections office for 24 years, faces local real estate agent Barbara Batten, who promises to bring her personal touch and administrative experience to the job. Williams has worked in the office since she was 17 years old, starting as a clerk and working her way up to assistant supervisor. Despite Williams' tenure, Mau said she has endorsed neither Williams nor her Democratic opponent -- nor any of the four Republican candidates. "Our day is spent being politically neutral," said Mau, a Democrat. "In order to remain credible with the other candidates, we have to serve all of them." Mau says the biggest challenge for her successor will be "keeping abreast of technology." The candidates agree. But first and foremost on their campaign platforms, they say, is voter education. As the county's population gets younger, Hernando County's traditionally high voter participation rate is threatened because senior citizens turn out at the polls in the highest numbers. Hernando County has more than 98,300 registered voters, Mau said. In presidential election years, turnout often is as high as 80 percent. Williams and Batten want to keep it that way by reaching young future voters before cynicism and apathy take hold. How to do that, and how to prepare the office for the county's anticipated growth, is where they differ. Barbara BattenBatten envisions involving students from kindergarten through high school. She sees taking the students outside the classroom for field trips to show them how the election process works. Elementary students would learn about the vote and how the majority rules. Batten envisions allowing them to vote in mock elections and setting them up as poll workers. Middle and high school students would be taught the fine art of campaigning. "My goal is that within 12 years, if someone would follow through if I didn't get re-elected, voting would be uppermost in their minds," she said. Aside from impressing on the young the importance of the vote, Batten says she wants to make it easier for seniors in the community to cast a ballot by bringing poll workers to assisted living and retirement homes. She plans to cross-train every employee in the office so that each can answer questions and not make the public wait for certain people in the office to give out information, as is the case now. "I don't want the voting public to have to wait for an answer," she said. "I want cross-training and pleasant voices and total knowledge." The traditional surplus in Mau's budget that is returned each year to the county could be geared to voter education or registration programs as the population swells with younger people, Batten said. Also key to dealing with growth are the location of polling places and the number of precincts in the county, she said. "We are going to have to have more precincts, I'm sure," she said. As for technological changes in an office that only began using electronic balloting in March, Batten said she would like to see candidates' campaign finance reports on the office's computer Web site. Batten says that if she wins the race, she will quit her job as a Realtor associate at Century 21, where she has worked for the past five years. Though Batten says her experience in an elections office is limited to about four months as a deputy registrar in the Hillsborough County supervisor of elections office in 1990, her extensive management experience in past jobs -- including five years as assistant vice president and manager for Barnett Bank -- makes her the best candidate for the job. Williams' long service in the office does not necessarily mean she can run the show, Batten said. "Experience isn't always knowledge," she said. "I don't know the depth of her abilities or if she's been allowed to show them." Batten has raised four times as much money for her campaign as Williams and the second-most of all six candidates, totaling $8,875 as of Aug. 11. Many of her contributions come from others in real estate. Batten's voting record shows she has consistently participated in the process she hopes to lead in Hernando County. As for her party, records show she changed her party registration from Democrat to Republican in 1990 and back to Democrat again last July. Batten said she changed parties in the past to help other candidates in other races. Annie WilliamsWilliams said she got a late start campaigning because of her work hours. She had raised $2,708 by Aug. 11, most of it coming from individuals. Williams, a lifelong Democrat who also regularly has voted, says her extensive experience in the elections office -- working up from clerk to assistant supervisor -- makes her the most qualified candidate. Except for handling the office's budget, a job for the supervisor, Williams said she knows every aspect of the office. "You better believe I do," she said. Her knowledge of registration rolls, setting up polls and orchestrating elections is in marked contrast to her opponents. "How can you compare three months to 20 years?" she said of Batten's four months in the Hillsborough County elections office. Williams' ideas on voter education call for visits to schools to teach the younger students about the elections process from start to finish. Williams already visits high school seniors at the end of each school year to get them registered. But by then, it's too late, she said. Many are not interested and do not believe that one vote counts. Williams would like to see more information on the office's computer Web site, but she first wants to make sure there is money in the budget to pay someone to enter candidates' financial information and other data. Asked why this has not already been accomplished, Williams said, "It's up to the supervisor." Regarding a suggestion by a Republican candidate in the race that the elections office staff should be cut by two employees, Williams said that the staff is just as busy in non-election years maintaining files. Reducing the staff would not be feasible, she said. "I wish they would come and see," she said. "We stay busy year in and year out." Unlike Batten, Williams said she would continue the practice of allowing only the supervisor and the assistant supervisor to speak for the office, though she says employees are already cross-trained and should be able to help with simple questions. Williams says that if she does not win the election, she would like to stay on as assistant, but that it would depend on the atmosphere. "Elections are all I know," she said. The jobThe supervisor of elections registers voters and maintains voting records, establishes and sets up polling places, collects and tallies ballots on election night, sends results to the state and makes them available to the public. The supervisor also conducts voter education programs to encourage registration and participation. The job pays $80,000 a year. DemocratsBARBARA BATTEN, 54, is a Realtor associate for Century 21 and a former assistant vice president and manager at Barnett Bank. Batten received a diploma from the Hernando school system's night school and took several courses at Pasco-Hernando Community College. She worked for four months in 1990 as a deputy registrar in the office of the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections. A Brooksville resident, Batten is a member of the Greater Hernando County Chamber of Commerce, the Kiwanis Club of Brooksville and the Heritage Museum. She and her husband, Cliff, have two grown children. ASSETS: checking account, IRAs, home, two automobiles. LIABILITIES: none listed. SOURCE OF INCOME: job as Realtor associate. E-MAIL: bbatten@bbatten.com WEB SITE: http://www.bbatten.com ANNIE WILLIAMS, 44, has been working in the Hernando County Supervisor of Elections Office since she was 17. Working her way up from a clerk/typist, Williams has been assistant supervisor of elections for about seven years. A Brooksville resident, Williams graduated from Hernando High School and obtained an associate's degree in business from Pasco-Hernando Community College. She and her husband, Andrew Williams Jr., have two children. ASSETS: cars, checking and savings accounts, insurance. LIABILITIES: loan. SOURCE OF INCOME: job in elections office.
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