Six contend for elections supervisor: The Republicans

Candidates agree the main challenge for the next supervisor of elections is voter education.

By SAUNDRA AMRHEIN

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 21, 2000

With incumbent Ann Mau stepping down, four candidates crowd the Republican field for Hernando County supervisor of elections, including one who lost his race against Mau in the 1996 election.

But this time around, challenger Jerry Theilen says he's done his homework. All of the candidates -- the others are Gus Guadagnino, Curtis Maynard and Sue Rupe -- say they have explored, in varying degrees, the inner workings of registration rolls and polling places, with an eye toward making improvements.

The winner in the Sept. 5 primary will face one of two Democratic candidates in the November general election.

All of the Republican candidates agree that the chief challenge for the next supervisor is voter education as more young families move into the area and the percentage of seniors, who vote in large numbers, declines.

Aside from getting more young people to the polls, Mau and some candidates say technology will play a large role in shaping the office in years to come. In the March presidential primary, the office began using an electronic system to tabulate votes. Some candidates want to see more information about candidates' financial contributions posted on the office's computer Web site.

Gus Guadagnino

Maybe the most visible of the candidates is Guadagnino, a business owner who is involved in numerous organizations and volunteer projects. He has raised the most money of all the candidates, totaling $9,561 as of Aug. 11.

His contributors are businesses, attorneys and individuals throughout the community, including $400 from certified public accountant Michael Kierzynski and $250 from Blackhawk Properties. Guadagnino has voted in almost every election since registering in 1987.

He said he wants the job because he enjoys being "in the zone of influence."

"I was always brought up with (the advice that) you can't just take and not give back," he said.

Guadagnino wanted to get involved with the office because he sees a "downward spiral" of voter interest on the national level. It's the responsibility, he said, of the local elections office to get residents to vote.

"Voters need to be educated about the elections process," he said. "It's the same as a job interview."

That includes teaching voters how to find information on candidates and the positions they are filling.

If he is elected, he said, he would continue to be involved with his business, Joni Industries, but he said his wife would run it. He would spend his days at the elections office.

After analyzing the office's budget, he said he believes more money could be better spent on programs during off-election years to encourage voting. Also, more staff members in the office should be equipped to answer questions from the public, he said.

Teenagers and seniors could play a big role in getting the word out about the importance of voting, he said, and the number of precincts in the county needs to be increased to handle growth.

Calling the office's computer Web site one of the "dullest" he has seen, Guadagnino said it should be holding 10 times more information about voting.

Curtis Maynard

Maynard has raised the least of all of the Republicans, with $600 coming mostly from himself through Aug. 11.

He thinks he can increase participation at the polls by being a strong role model for the community as well as for office seekers.

"I would be there to tell them I don't agree with them," Maynard said of candidates he thinks might be running improper campaigns.

He would inspire residents to vote, he said, by setting a strong moral example.

"If I was in that position, I'd be a role model helping people see they need help in the political process," he said.

One of the biggest responsibilities in the office is seeing that poll workers are properly trained, he said.

His experience in the work force, political world and as a volunteer would make him a good administrative leader in the office, he said.

Maynard considers himself "somewhat" computer literate but has not visited the office's Web site, and so could assess it.

The major change in the office's staff if he wins, Maynard said, would be the elimination of Annie Williams, the assistant elections supervisor who has worked in the office for 24 years and who is running on the Democratic ticket for the supervisor's position.

"As far as I'm concerned, she gambled and lost," he said of the situation should he win.

For fairness, he would encourage candidates to follow the same campaign formats while running for office, Maynard said.

Maynard registered in Hernando County as a Republican in 1991, though he and his wife did not permanently move to Spring Hill until 1993. He has been voting since 1992.

Sue Rupe

Rupe says her 25 years working for the county qualify her as a good candidate for the elections job. Currently the county's tourism coordinator, she said she is ready for something new.

Rupe ranks third among the Republican candidates and fifth of all six in contributions, totaling $1,690 as of Aug. 11. Many of her contributions are from individuals, though she received $500 from Meadowood Homes and $100 from Papa Joe's Italian Restaurant.

She says she hesitates to commit to changes within the elections office until she has a chance to examine its operations and the budget.

If elected, Rupe said, she would take the elections process into the schools by holding mock elections for students, to elect everything from officers to chalkboard cleaners to get them involved early in their lives.

Communication with poll workers is important, too, she said, to find out what changes need to be made in the elections office.

She wants to explore including more information on the computer Web site and making it more interactive so schools could sign up for elections programs.

She said she changed her party affiliation from Democrat to Republican in 1984, the year current Sheriff Thomas Mylander ran for office, so she could vote for him. She has voted consistently.

She said she would use the same marketing ideas for the elections office that she uses in the tourism office.

"If I can market Hernando County and bring tourists, I can market Hernando County and bring voters," she said.

Jerry Theilen

Of the four Republican candidates, Theilen is offering voters the most detailed plan on how he would carry out changes in the office.

"I'm not reinventing the wheel here," he said. "I'm just making the ride a little smoother."

First, he would conduct elections for elementary school students for class president. Students would register either in the Ice Cream Party or the Pizza Party. The students would then nominate their candidates, who would present a platform for election. Some students would work polls; others would work elections offices. The students would then hold a primary, a runoff primary if needed, and a general election.

Theilen also wants to create a junior election board to help arrange school field trips for students to visit the elections office and assist in office projects.

He would create a senior election board that would help the elderly get to the polls on election days or obtain absentee ballots.

Theilen would cut the elections office's staff by two positions, from nine to seven, and reclassify some of the positions to give employees more responsibilities.

The surplus money in the budget would be used for the educational programs and election boards he proposes. Mau typically has money left over and returns it to the County Commission.

Most immediately, Theilen said, he would increase the number of precincts in the county from 51 to 60 to prepare for the anticipated growth, and he would form a citizens action team to meet monthly and make recommendations on how to increase that number to 85 by 2008.

He supports putting candidates' financial reports and campaign contributions on the office's Web site.

His experience overseeing a $5-million budget as a general services specialist for the Florida Department of Corrections, combined with more than 20 years managing computer systems for the Tandy Corp. and Zitomer Department Store in New York City, makes him the best candidate for the office, he said.

Since registering as a Republican in Hernando County in 1996, Theilen has consistently voted in elections.

He ranks second of the four Republicans and fourth overall in contributions, and had raised $2,200 as of Aug. 11.

Many of his contributions come from relatives and himself.

The job

The 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.

Republicans

GUS GUADAGNINO, 46, is chief executive officer of Joni Industries, a marketing and promotional firm at the Hernando County Airport Industrial Park. He holds an associate's degree in industrial arts from the Community College of New York City. A native of New York, Guadagnino lives in Spring Hill and has been involved in numerous community programs, including the Hernando County Education Foundation and the Hernando County Sheriff's Office Junior Deputy Hernando League. He is a former director of the Greater Hernando County Chamber of Commerce and is vice president of the Manufacturers Association of Hernando County, a member of the Tourist Development Council, a member of the Economic Development Commission and a member of the Hernando Builders Association. He and his wife, Annmarie, have two children. ASSETS: IRAs, checking and savings accounts, mutual funds, automobiles, boat, investments. LIABILITIES: mortgages and car notes. SOURCE OF INCOME: his business and investments. WEB SITE: http://www.gus4soe.com

CURTIS MAYNARD, 73, is a retired traffic, production and purchasing specialist with Ford Motor Co. A native of Detroit, he has lived in Spring Hill since 1993. He graduated from the College of Advanced Traffic in Detroit. During his years at Ford, he used vacation time to conduct two evangelical crusades to Brazil. In 1974, he joined a boyhood friend in San Diego to become national director of Family Life Seminars, a ministry to troubled families in the United States and Canada. He served on the Christian-Jewish Coalition for the George Bush for President Committee in January 1988. He and his wife, Barbara, have two sons and a daughter. ASSETS: real estate, bank accounts and car. LIABILITIES: mortgages and loan. SOURCE OF INCOME: pension and Social Security.

SUE RUPE, 55, has been the tourism development coordinator for Hernando County for four years. She served as the county's economic development coordinator from 1992 to 1995. Rupe has been a member of the Florida Commission on Tourism since 1997. Originally from Seattle, Rupe lives in Brooksville. She obtained a business certificate from Seattle Community College. She also attended Pasco-Hernando Community College and the University of South Florida. She and her husband, Douglas, have five adult children. ASSETS: land and four automobiles. LIABILITIES: loans. SOURCE OF INCOME: job as tourism coordinator.

JERRY THEILEN, 44, is a general services specialist with the state Department of Corrections. Previously, he worked as an information systems director for Zitomers Department Store and general manager for Tandy Corp. He holds a college credit in Microsoft Access from Lake Sumter College. Originally from Brooklyn, N.Y., Theilen lives in Spring Hill. He ran unsuccessfully for supervisor of elections in 1996. He has been involved with Habitat for Humanity, Spring Hill Dixie Baseball, the Spring Hill Civic Association, the Deltona Elementary School Advisory Board, the Hernando Youth League and the Florida Police Benevolent Association. He and his wife, Gina, have a son and daughter. ASSETS: home, two cars, two computers and annuities. LIABILITIES: Mortgage, loans. SOURCE OF INCOME: Florida Department of Corrections.

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