From behind the Sentinel paywall: Legislation to change the makeup of the Douglas County Board of Elections and Registration started out as a partisan battle between Democratic and Republican county commissioners and legislators. Democrats were looking for more parity on a board that had one declared Democrat among its five members. The changes, first introduced by Democrats in the General Assembly in 2013, finally passed in 2014 after both sides agreed to compromises. Democrats and Republicans had already appointed their two members each to the BOER, which is being reconstituted next month. That left just the Board of Commissioners to appoint the fifth member, as spelled out in the new legislation. What happened at last Tuesdays BOC meeting was a clear sign that while the elections board will have a new look, politics are never far beneath the surface. Commissioners voted to approve Bob Camp, who currently serves and will be the only returning member on the new board in 2015. District 3 Commissioner Mike Mulcare, a Republican, nominated Camp after being recognized by Commission Chairman Tom Worthan near the end of the meeting even though it appeared District 1 Commissioner Henry Mitchell, a Democrat, had tried to speak before Mulcare. Mitchell said he had intended on nominating someone else even though he knew Camp would be approved given the Republicans 3-2 advantage on the BOC. I think it is important to have somebody that has served on that board before, Mulcare said after he nominated Camp for the final seat.I think it is going to be very helpful to the four new board members to have at least one experienced hand on deck, thus my motion. Worthan, a Republican, said he thought Mulcare made a very good point. Worthan, Mulcare and District 4 Commissioner Ann Jones Guider all voted in favor of Camp. Mitchell and District 2 Commissioner Kelly Robinson, both Democrats, voted against Camp. Mitchell later said in an interview with the Sentinel that the board would be better with a completely new group rather than bringing back one member from the previous board. I think a clean slate is better than going back, Mitchell said. We (Democrats) changed it because it appears there were some improprieties being done for the Republicans. We wanted to balance it out. So basically, we are going back to the old ways rather than what we stated. When asked for more details on the improprieties, Mitchell declined to comment. Mulcare, however, responded by noting that while anyone can file a lawsuit it doesnt mean a crime was committed. It is always easy to raise questions, Mulcare said. The fact that a complaint was filed does not mean there was substance to it. There was no substance to the findings of the board. Mulcare also said he didnt understand why some of the commissioners were against a complete turnover of any board, especially the Board of Elections. I dont know why we would make an exception to that board, Mulcare said. It is a crucial board. We dont have a 100 percent turnover on any board. They are all staggered for the very reason for the continuity of goals and experience. Who mentors the new board members? Who trains them? Whatever board it is. Any board. Why would we make an exception for that board? But Mitchell questioned the reasoning for having an experienced member brought back on to the Board of Elections. The notion is we really need someone who knows the process, Mitchell said. The only person who has to know the process is (Elections Supervisor Laurie Fulton). The board is just setting policy. Laurie is in charge of the operations. When Fulton was asked about the details of Board of Elections training, she said there was no official training. I do an orientation with them, Fulton said. The state has no training materials. When asked what duties a board member of any political affiliation needs to posses, Fulton responded, They need to represent the citizens of the county no matter what their background is. When reached by phone Friday, Camp said he was happy to be chosen by the BOC. I have been serving for the last two years, Camp said. I felt like continuity on the board would be a good thing. Camp said he hopes the other board members, who were chosen by opposing political parties, wont be influenced by partisanship. I hope that is not the case, Camp said when asked about new board members getting pressure from their political parties. I certainly urge anyone on the board to resist pressure from any political party. I understand (that) concern. I can say with the people on the existing board, they only acted appropriately as Board of Elections members. I hope that that is the direction going forward with the new members. Camp also added that the roles and responsibilities of Board of Elections members has not changed, just the method for how members are chosen. Joining Camp in 2015 on the Board of Elections from the Democratic Party are Talula Lisa Martin and Lynita Mitchell-Blackwell. The Republican Party members are Bob Proctor and Dan Zimmermann. While Mitchell and state Rep. Kim Alexander, D-Douglasville, felt that bringing more partisanship to the Board of Elections would make the board more fair, others, including Rep. Micah Gravley, R-Douglasville, said he disagrees. Here is the irony, Gravley said. If there were political accusations in the past, all that has been done is that this board has just been made more political. Gravley went on to say that before the legislation changing the BOER was passed, Worthan was more than willing to work with the delegation on a better solution and even offered, what Gravley considered, a lot of great ideas. The chairmans solutions would have been the best, Gravley said. It would have given the school board and the judges a vote. When asked to compare the new board with the previous board, Gravley said that what was done in an effort to make the board more fair only made the board more partisan. I just think that there was more balance on the previous board makeup than now, Gravley said. I believe Laurie and the chairman were more than willing to come up with a reasonable and appropriate solution for the board. Its a shame that their requests were not adhered to. ... I think the way the board is organized now is more partisan than it was. Thats not how a BOE should be.
Posted on: Sun, 07 Dec 2014 02:04:07 +0000