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| Florida: Cobb's Partisan Cloud |
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| By Daytona Beach News-Journal | |
| December 12, 2005 | |
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Florida's election overseer should be above suspicion This editorial appeared in the Daytona Beach News-Journal.  By
naming Sue Cobb secretary of state -- the person to oversee Florida
elections -- Gov. Jeb Bush appointed a friend in whom he has
confidence. Pardon voters if they don't share his enthusiasm for Cobb.So long as the state's chief elections officer is a gubernatorial appointee, not just Bush's but any governor's, a cloud of partisan suspicion will hang over the office and the electoral system. In fairness to appointees intent on running a fair electoral system, the state should do everything possible to keep the appointment process above suspicion. Bush had the right to appoint someone he trusts. But Cobb, a businesswoman and attorney, is also a munificent contributor to the Republican Party, not unlike Katherine Harris, who presided over the 2000 presidential election fiasco as secretary of state and as co-manager with Bush of his brother's Florida presidential election campaign. Cobb, appointed by President Bush as U.S. ambassador to Jamaica, contributed $52,500 to Republican candidates and party committees in 1999-2000, and gave a $40,000 soft-money contribution to a Republican state elections committee. She also gave $5,000 to the 2000 Bush/Cheney Presidential Transition Foundation. Her husband, Charles, ambassador to Iceland under the first President Bush, contributed $71,750 to the GOP in 1999-2000, including $1,000 to Bush, and $5,000 to the Bush-Cheney Florida recount fund. The last thing Florida needs is another elections chief pulling Harris-like punches that just happen to favor her party's candidates. Prior to 1998, the secretary of state was an elected Cabinet officer. Recognizing that clearly shaded the office with partisan bias, state voters amended the constitution to make the position appointive. But voters left the decision about who would appoint to the Legislature, which tripped over itself in the rush to bestow that power exclusively to Bush. To restore confidence in Florida's electoral system, lawmakers should create a nonpartisan nominating committee to recommend appointees. Cobb pledged diligence in keeping partisanship out of the election system. We hope she's as good as her word. But it's asking too much of this state's voters to take her at her word or on the governor's faith in her. Voters remember too well Harris' shabby performance through voting list purges and the events of the 2000 "hanging chad" election. And they can't be encouraged by the administration's current obstinate delays in certifying any but the Diebold touch-screen voting machines, which produce no paper ballot trail for verifiable recounts. Bush could have looked for someone of Cobb's considerable skills but without her close ties to his family and party. He didn't. The Legislature should see that future appointees to this office are chosen to minimize suspicions of partisan favor. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Comment on This Article
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