Prevailing conjecture is that the 2020 Presidential Election will drive voters to the polls in record numbers, inclusive of first-time voters, seniors and previously disenfranchised citizens.
In local Washington County, Florida politics, some races are starting to attract job applicants as candidates enter the race for School Board, Superintendent of Schools, Supervisor of Elections and Board of County Commission.
The position of Washington County Supervisor of Elections finds local residents Corey Odom and Christopher Hyatt vying for that office, with long-time incumbent Carol Rudd yet to declare her intent to again seek that position.
In County Commission races, incumbents Tray Hawkins, District 3 Commissioner, and Steve Joyner, representing District 5, have both thrown their hats into the ring, as yet with no competition. Vernon’s Travis Hall again seeks to gain the District 1 Commission seat, currently held by Alan Bush, having made a bid for that office in 2012.
School Board District 2 incumbent Lou Cleveland finds herself challenged by Jerry Harrell, who ran against Cleveland four years ago in a 3-way non-partisan race.
School Board member Milton Brown has qualified to seek to retain his non-partisan District 3 seat, with no declared opponent as yet.
Washington County Superintendent of Schools Joe Taylor has competition for the first time in eight years for that job, faced by Martha Compton, currently serving as Director of Florida Panhandle Technical College, with both candidates Republicans.
With seven months of hard campaigning to come, most of those in the hottest months of the year, we look toward parades, festivals, town hall forums and political debates.
Rumors are rife about potential candidates in these and other races, and as these contests are slugged out, with candidates shaking hands and kissing babies, the region looks toward traditional candidate forums and public debates, including those endorsed and executed by the Washington County Republican Party and the Chipley Kiwanis Club, the Roulhac Enrichment Center and various town hall meetings, as seen in these photos from past election forums.
