Election season is right on track

Spring is in the air, even if not yet on the calendar, and that can mean only one thing:

Election season!

March 1 is the unofficial start of the six-month countdown to the Aug. 20 primary for local elections. Yes, campaigning has occurred here and there, but now we should expect it to really gear up.

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March is huge for candidates trying to get off the starting line. I visited with six candidates Saturday and Sunday at the Floral City Strawberry Festival, and the Citrus County Fair the last week of March is considered the showcase for candidates.

So, to kick off this beautiful Citrus County week, some politics:

— Before we talk about the local scene, we must quickly discuss the presidential preference primary on March 19.

I know we’re all disappointed that this isn’t the heavyweight grudge match we expected with Floridians Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump, but so be it.

A few things to know about the presidential preference primary, or PPP for our purposes today.

One thing, VERY IMPORTANT: Florida is a closed primary state, so only registered Republicans can vote in the PPP. And if you’re not registered Republican, too late to switch parties for the PPP. 

I realize this is confusing to Citrus County newbies who hail from other parts of the U.S. that allow anyone to cross party lines to vote in their PPP. I don’t know if this is still the case, but when I lived in Michigan 35 years ago, I was a registered Democrat, but could vote in the Republican primary ballot.

Let’s remember the purpose of the PPP. It’s a nominating process. Republicans nominate their choice for president. No one is elected in a PPP.

(And, yes, I very much enjoy typing PPP over and over again. It’s fun. Try it.)

Sorry Dems and non-Republicans, but you’re sitting this one out. No other Democrats but President Joe Biden qualified, and we don’t have a “none of the above” choice. Uncontested candidates are not on the ballot.

To simplify: Republicans have a vote March 19; Democrats and third-party/no-party voters do not.  Here are the GOP candidates.

I did some checking and was surprised to see the Citrus County voter turnout for these things isn’t all that bad, generally above 40%. For nothing but a beauty contest vote, that’s a decent number of people casting ballots.

Early voting starts Friday, March 8. Check the Supervisor of Elections website for all the info.

— I mentioned running into candidates at the Strawberry Festival, and the likelihood of seeing them at the Citrus County Fair. Candidates use this time to meet voters and get their petition cards signed.

Any registered voter may sign a petition card to help a candidate get his/her name on the ballot. Candidates can either go the petition route or pay a qualifying fee. Practically no one pays the fee, which is a percentage of the salary of the office sought and can go into the thousands of dollars.

Candidates need 1,222 signatures to qualify. Signing a card doesn’t necessarily mean campaign support. It’s simply a process.

That said, I don’t sign them. It started during my Chronicle days when I decided my name would never end up in someone’s campaign folder. Candidates are fiercely competitive — as they should be — and perception is huge.

After retiring from the Chronicle and starting Just Wright Citrus, I still shied away from signing petition cards. Call it habit perhaps, but the real reason is — bluntly — some people I don’t want on the ballot. It wouldn’t be a good look to sign some cards and not others, so I don’t sign any.

(Reporters will go out of their way to avoid conflict. You can take that too far. I met a metro reporter years ago who told me that to avoid conflict, he doesn't vote.)


—I’m preaching to the choir, but it’s very important this year that we try to be nice. Folks are geared up for an election battle on numerous fronts, from county commissioner to sheriff, and it’s good to see that enthusiasm.

If we can keep focused on seeking solutions to the numerous challenges this community faces, we’ll be in great shape regardless of the election results. If we allow candidates, and a handful of troublemakers, to try and force us into a conversation about fantasy problems we lose the ability to home in on the real stuff. 

In short: Refuse to be manipulated. Candidates don’t set the agenda — voters do. We need answers to transportation, roads, growth, taxes, sewers, teachers, bus drivers — and the list goes on and on. 

Be nice to candidates, but also challenge them. Candidates who answer with hyperbole have no role in leadership.

It’s Election Season! Let’s get ‘er done.

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