Hernando County Supervisor of Elections, Annie Williams, stated in the newspaper on Wednesday that her office can only levy fines and does not have investigative powers. By statute, the Florida Department of State has the enforcement powers for campaign rule violations but does not investigate. If both of these statements are true, then just who protects our electoral process in Hernando County? If Annie Williams does not investigate, or enforce the rules, then it must be safe to assume that her duties are merely that of a clerical status, holding no authority under the law to protect our election system. Ms. Williams stated that any campaign finance complaints against candidates must be filed with the Florida Commission on Ethics. Does this mean she relies on a system of one candidate turning in another candidate, for any perceived violations, during the campaign because that is not under her job description? What happens when violations are handed to Ms. Williams? Does she just ignore them? The answer is yes. For example, a situation involving a civic activist named Linda Hayward has been ignored after two requests to Ms. Williams. You see Ms. Hayward is promoting an issue of lower Ad Valorem taxes countywide, by handing out flyers with candidate statements from Steve Mattingly, Wayne Dukes, Augie Peretti and David Russell. This $500.00 in-kind contribution to these candidates for advertising purposes is for the intent of promoting a single issue of significantly lowering Ad Valorem taxes. Ms. Hayward checked with Annie Williams before having these items printed for the proper required disclaimers but was not advised to file the appropriate financial disclosure forms with the SOE's office. For that matter, Steve Mattingly, Wayne Dukes, Augie Peretti and David Russell neglected to include this $500.00 in-kind contribution in their July 28, 2006 financial documents. Florida statutes clearly defines this rule:
106.071 Independent expenditures; electioneering communications; reports; disclaimers.--
(1) Each person who makes an independent expenditure with respect to any candidate or issue, and each individual who makes an expenditure for an electioneering communication which is not otherwise reported pursuant to this chapter, which expenditure, in the aggregate, is in the amount of $100 or more, shall file periodic reports of such expenditures in the same manner, at the same time, subject to the same penalties, and with the same officer as a political committee supporting or opposing such candidate or issue.
(1) Each person who makes an independent expenditure with respect to any candidate or issue, and each individual who makes an expenditure for an electioneering communication which is not otherwise reported pursuant to this chapter, which expenditure, in the aggregate, is in the amount of $100 or more, shall file periodic reports of such expenditures in the same manner, at the same time, subject to the same penalties, and with the same officer as a political committee supporting or opposing such candidate or issue.
Florida has been seen as the laughing stock of the world for election errors. Who can ever forget the missing chad, the hanging chad, the dangling chad, repeated over and over in the news in the 2000 election until everyone in Florida wanted to put a bag over their head in shame. We do not need that type of disgrace in Hernando County with our electoral process. If it isn't Annie Williams, the Supervisor of Elections job, then whose is it?
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