Doug Jones Enters Race for Supervisor of Elections Seat

doug jones photo.gif Hello, my name is Doug Jones and I am pleased to announce my candidacy for the Supervisor of Elections office. It has been a privilege serving the citizens of Wakulla County as the Director of the Wakulla County Public Library for 23 years and I hope you give me the opportunity to serve you as your next Supervisor of Elections.

My wife and I and our 3 cats live in the Beechwood Community, near Shadeville. I met my wife Jane in 1998 when she was a library volunteer. In 2002 my life as a bachelor happily ended when Jane and I got married and I became an instant stepdad to CJ Feehan, Fiona Kelleghan, and Liz Scholer as well as Grandpa Doug to Kelsey Scholer, age 10 , and Lindsey Scholer, age 8.

I grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida and graduated from Dixie Hollins High School in 1967. Following high school, I attended Florida State University where I received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business in 1971. My area of emphasis was Risk and Insurance and from 1971 through 1983 I was employed first as a property and casualty insurance agent in my father’s agency and later as a rate examination specialist with the Florida Department of Insurance. While employed at the Department of Insurance I handled complaints from Florida’s consumers. I got such gratifying feedback from the citizens whose issues I helped resolve that I decided to make a career of serving the public by meeting their information needs and enrolled at FSU’s School of Library and Information Studies. In 1985 I received a Master’s degree in Library Science and my first library job upon graduation is the position I still hold today.

I accepted that job 23 years ago and have never looked back. During this period I have been an active member of the community. I co-founded and served as both a Board member and officer of the Wakulla County Historical Society and Keep Wakulla County Beautiful. I am also a member and current secretary of the Rotary Club of Wakulla County (Rotarian of the Year, 2007). I am an officer and Board Member of the Friends of the Library, and a member of the Iris Garden Club, C.H.A.T., Friends of Wakulla Springs, and the League of Women Voters.

As librarian I have helped develop the library as a place where all viewpoints can be expressed and respected. As your Supervisor of Elections I want openness and honesty to be a hallmark of the election process.

{sidebar id=1}My library staff and I have served all citizens with the utmost honor and respect, regardless of race, ethnicity, creed, or socio-economic status, a process I will continue as Supervisor of Elections.

As Library Director I have spent your tax dollars as judiciously and wisely as possible delivering library services at a much lower per capita cost than most libraries in Florida, a budgeting and expenditure process I will continue as your Supervisor of Elections.

I have been involved in the Wakulla election process for over 20 years and have worked closely with the retiring Supervisor of Elections, Sherida Crum. In the late 1980’s Mrs. Crum deputized me so I could register voters at the library. I realized voter registration was a valuable service the library could provide for those registering for library cards.

In the early 1990’s I assisted the Supervisor by preparing the large chalk board used on election night in front of the courthouse. As votes from around the county were tabulated, the totals were written on the board. Technology eventually made that job obsolete when the chalk board was replaced by a video monitor.

When the library moved to its current home in Medart, one of the selling points for the Board of County Commissioners to purchase the building and 3-acre site was the need for a handicap-accessible precinct in Medart. The library was then located in the Old County Courthouse with major accessibility issues so the county was able to solve two problems with the $300,000 purchase of the Medart site. I then applied for and received a $300,000 matching grant from the State to renovate the bare bones building into a modern accessible facility. It is very important that all citizens with disabilities have access to library services and the ability to vote without difficulty. I was very proud for the library to have met this challenge.

As librarian, I have attended two National Voter Registration Act workshops sponsored by the Florida Division of Elections office, the most recent in May 2008. These workshops informed participants of all the latest changes to the voting laws and the do’s and don’ts during the voter registration process.

After working closely with the poll workers at the Medart precinct for a decade, I signed up to be an official poll worker during the 2006 election cycle. This was an eye opening experience in many regards. The experience was very worthwhile and drove home the importance of team work by poll workers and the elections office for trouble free elections. Sherida Crum provided excellent training workshops for all poll workers before the primary and the general election and had special workshops for those of us who were responsible for the Diebold Touch Screen voting machine. I volunteered for that duty as I wanted first hand knowledge of the touch screen machine and how voters interacted with it as they voted.

There were many changes in the State voting law prior to that election and we were all well prepared by the Supervisor in how to deal with them. Precinct Captain Callie Quigg handled every issue that arose that day with grace and diplomacy--from voters who no longer lived in the precinct, voters who did not have photo identification, to a glitch I had with the printer on the Touch Screen Machine when it did not print results at the end of the day. It is clear that a critical key to a successful election is a well-trained team of poll workers in every precinct.

As for the Touch Screen Voting machine, I think it is a good voting option for those with visual impairments but until it can provide a verifiable paper trail, in the event of a recount in a close election, it is unacceptable for use as a first line voting machine. Counties all over the state spent millions of dollars acquiring touch screen machines and now are converting to the Optical Scan systems that Wakulla voters have been using for many years. Sherida Crum is to be commended for her wisdom of investing in Optical Scan technology many years ago.

If elected to the Supervisor of Elections office I will recruit as many unregistered voters to the voting process as possible including the overwhelming number of young adults who have not registered to vote and the many people who have recently had their civil rights restored and are now trying to lead lives as productive members of society. I will educate voters with sample ballots and other pertinent information so they can make informed decision at the polls. I will expand the early voting process with additional hours and locations (budgets permitting) and to remove any obstacle to obtaining an absentee ballot for any voter for any reason. And finally, I will protect the voter’s right to cast a secret ballot whether at the polls, during early voting, or by absentee ballot.

I am running as a candidate with no party affiliation (NPA) and therefore I will not appear on the ballot during the August 26th Primary Election. Please vote for me in the General Election on November 4th.

If you are not registered to vote, please do so as soon as possible. To vote in the August 26th Primary Election you must register by July 28th. To vote in the November 4th General Election you must register by October 6th. Your vote is important! Over the past ten years, many elections in Wakulla County have been very close; your vote makes a difference. Please vote!

If you have any comments, questions, or concerns, I would be happy to hear from you. Please send an email to me at electdougjones@gmail.com or call me at 766-7438.

This letter originally published on June 30, 2008.

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