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Realtors surprised by backings
By JENNIFER FARRELL © St. Petersburg Times, published October 16, 2000 When the Hernando County Association of Realtors released its list of endorsements for the Nov. 7 general election, some members were surprised by the results. Not only had the organization's 450 members not been polled for their opinion, but the screening panel, made up of the association's board of directors, did not interview all of the candidates for each office. Now several members of the organization are criticizing the endorsement process, which some say is biased. In a letter addressed to the association and local newspapers, and signed by 17 members, the members said they are concerned that the endorsements could give the public the wrong impression. "We understand how important endorsements and political contributions are to the candidates vying for office, but we have a heavy concern of misleading the public about how these choices are made," the letter says. "We as individual members of the Hernando County Association of Realtors had no input or say in the endorsements and feel it is presumptuous of a panel that may be biased in their decision making to choose these endorsement candidates." The letter goes on to question the endorsement process, which allows a handful of board members to interview candidates and make recommendations in the name of the association. Association President Elaine Grenon defended the panel's objectivity and its method of endorsement, which she said has long been the practice. Changing it would require adjusting the group's bylaws. Grenon said each candidate was given the opportunity to interview with the panel, which then voted, basing its decisions on candidates' responses. Some candidates opted not to show up for the interviews, according to board member Tom Hedick, who also sat on the screening panel. "That doesn't bode real well when somebody is a no-show," he said. Hedick, who signed the letter, said he sees room for improving the way endorsements are made. He added that not all of the candidates were asked the same questions as their opponents and suggested the panel has an inherent bias. "Some of those people (on the panel) are fairly politically connected," he said. In addition to Grenon and Hedick, the board members are: Teresa Sturgill, John Timmerman, Marilyn Pearson, Gary Schraut, Dennis Kolean, Jimmy Kimbrough and Jeanne Gavish. Pearson was absent from the interviews, and Sturgill was only present for part of the session. Hedick, who is a past president of the association and has been a member for two decades, said it is time to look at changing how endorsements work. "I don't know that we have ever sought the input to build a consensus from the association as a whole," he said. "Frankly, there's some merit to that." Association officials said the organization's only endorsement in the primary was Republican David Russell Jr. for the state House District 44 seat. In the Oct. 3 runoff election, the organization endorsed two candidates for County Commission: Republican Paul Sullivan for District 5 and Democrat Mary E. "Betty" Whitehouse for District 1. For the general election in November, the association endorsed Republican Richard Nugent for sheriff and non-partisan candidate Gail Coleman for School Board. In the commission races, the organization backed Whitehouse in District 1 and Republicans Carey J. Carlson and William "Alonzo" Merritt for Districts 3 and 5, respectively. Diane Rowden, who is running against Carlson in the District 3 commission race, said she chose not to seek the association's endorsement because she disagrees with accepting money from special-interest groups, and also because she is suspect of the way endorsements are handed out. Grenon denied charges by Batten and others that the panel was biased, resulting in heavy support for Republicans. As for future endorsements, she said the organization could alter its practices.
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