City contenders can't lollygag this year

The flurry to qualify for most March elections will take place during the holidays, not after.

People considering a run for municipal office may be shopping for more than gifts during the holiday season.

Some may use the festive days as an opportunity to collect signatures to help qualify them for office.

"It would be a good time to get your card signed because you'll be having parties," Indian Shores Mayor Don Taber quipped last week during a Town Commission meeting.

Although Taber's seat isn't up for grabs, 29 others are. And if you're planning on filling one, you won't be able to put off filing your paperwork until after the holidays.

The qualifying periods for most municipal elections in Pinellas County will be in December rather than January, moved up because of a deadline set by Deborah Clark, Pinellas County supervisor of elections.

Each municipality that wants to be included on the March 9 presidential primary ballot must provide information to Clark's office by Jan. 2. That means the windows for filing papers and other documentation for the March elections are during the height of the holiday season.

"Needless to say, I won't be planning a vacation during that time," said Jennifer Nye, Treasure Island deputy city clerk.

Indian Rocks Beach Commissioner William Ockunzzi isn't happy about the early deadline. And he let Clark know it.

"This qualifying period, occuring in the middle of December, will be conducted when many of our residents are out of town or otherwise engaged in preparing for the Christmas holiday," he wrote in a Sept. 24 letter to Clark.

Ockunzzi asked Clark to contact the state Division of Elections Office to find out if the city's qualifying period could be held during its normal time, after the holidays.

However, the Indian Rocks Beach City Commission is scheduled to approve the December qualifying dates at its meeting Tuesday. Like Indian Rocks Beach, many of the county's 24 municipalities are in the process of passing resolutions or ordinances to officially change their qualifying periods. Others already have done so.

Some cities, including Gulfport, North Redington Beach, South Pasadena and Treasure Island, have to change their election day from March 2 to a week later to coincide with the Florida presidential primary.

Clark has said the change was necessary because all 3,800 of the county's voting machines will be needed for the primary, making them unavailable for municipal elections for 30 days before and after that date. Any city that did not change its election date would have to run the election itself.

The change, Clark said, will bring Pinellas into line with other Florida counties, such as Pasco and Volusia, that have had same-day municipal elections for years.

A qualifying period allows municipal clerks time to verify that a prospective candidate can legally run for office. Some cities have 30-day periods, others only a week.

Deanne Bulino O'Reilly, Indian Rocks Beach city clerk, said she expects this election season to be business as usual. Most candidates in Indian Rocks Beach already submit their paperwork before the holidays, she said.

Anyone can declare a candidacy and open a campaign bank account at any time, O'Reilly said, but paperwork must be filed and fees paid during the qualifying period.

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