No, an elections supervisor should not accept endorsements from other elected officials

Over the past few months, I have participated in several candidate debates and forums in the Democratic contest to be the next Orange County Supervisor of Elections. 

During a recent panel hosted by the Orlando Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., there was  discussion about Dr. Karen Castor Dentel's practice of promoting endorsements from current elected officials and candidates. Questions were raised about  whether doing so could impact the integrity of the elections office. 

I have reservations about this practice, which I shared during the panel, but want to explain more fully than I could in the minute I had to comment during the forum. 

An elections supervisor should not accept endorsements from elected officials and candidates. The perception that the Supervisor of Elections is an impartial entity, tabulating and reporting the results without any influence or bias, is fundamental. When someone who  previously endorsed and publicly campaigned with a Supervisor of Elections then participates in an election of their own, how can the public trust that supervisor to conduct a fair election? The public must have confidence in the fair and honest counting of their votes, especially in our current political environment where the lie that the 2020 election was stolen persists. 

One of the hallmarks of former Supervisor Bill Cowles's career, like that of other supervisors around the region, was that he refused to accept or bestow personal endorsements. He rightfully believed that the election office should never have its impartiality compromised. That is why before I filed to run for office I made the decision that as a candidate I would follow Supervisor Cowles's example and neither seek nor accept endorsements from elected officials or candidates.

The Supervisor of Elections must be above reproach. While I am excited to share the endorsements I have earned from our community groups and organizations, I will not compromise the office's future impartiality by sharing the endorsements offered to me by elected officials and candidates.

Experience matters, and it is through my years of working alongside the election office staff that I have learned that the supervisor is unlike any other elected position. This is not just another political office where you can run the same boilerplate campaign you run when pursuing other offices. It requires extensive knowledge of election rules and the foresight to realize that what you do today can have a serious impact on the integrity of the election process tomorrow. With that sense of responsibility, I appreciate all of the elected officials who have offered their support, but they have understood and respected my commitment to preserving the integrity of the office.

Wes Hodge, former chair of the Orange County Democrats, is running in the Aug. 20 primary for Supervisor of Elections.