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Should Escambia County Employees Be Required To Resign To Run For Political Office?
January 25, 2022
Should Escambia County employees be required to resign to run for political office?
The county commission will consider an ordinance next month that might require employees to quit before filing as a candidate for any office.
It is not an unusual idea. Commissioner Robert Bender said during a recent meeting that state employees and employees of other counties are currently required to resign to run.
“If that’s the goal, then you want to have an ordinance that says anyone that is collecting pay from the Board of County Commissioners, for example, would not be able to run for elected office, including contract employees, anywhere on the work chart,” County Attorney Alison Rogers told commissioners.
Commissioner Jeff Bergosh said employees that become candidates can apply to get their job back, but there would be no automatic pass.
“If I decide that I’m going to run for mayor, and I resign this seat,” Commissioner Lumon May said. “If I don’t win mayor, I don’t come back to District 3 (commissioner). We are just out.”
“There’s risk in rewards. If you want to quit your job and run, quit your job and run,” May said, saying would not support any ordinance that would allow the person to return automatically to their job after their campaign.
Rogers said current law prohibits any county employee from, essentially, campaigning on the taxpayer’s dime.
“It is a crime for your employees to use their public time to do campaign activities,” Rogers said. “You need to be on leave. You are not supposed to be on county time, county computer, county phone…it is a crime. We do try to monitor this the best that we can.”
“I don’t have a problem with anyone running. But I will say this. The employer has a say,” Bergosh said.
Bergosh noted that he was not responsible for bringing a potential resign to run ordinance up for discussion. Two years ago, Johnathon Owens, who was an aide to District 2 Commissioner Doug Underhill, ran against incumbent Bergosh for the District 1 seat. Bergosh won with 38.71% of the vote. Owens finished third in the primary with 22.48% behind Jesse Casey with 31.01%
Rogers is expected to bring a resign to run ordinance back to the commission for further discussion and a possible vote in February. The ordinance would apply to any county employee that runs for any political office, not just the county commission.
Under state law, elected officials in Florida must resign in order to seek another elected office.
Comments
31 Responses to “Should Escambia County Employees Be Required To Resign To Run For Political Office?”
Just think, you could force someone you don’t like to resign by declaring them to be a candidate. That would have to include incumbents. Who, oh who should we nominate first?
No they should not be made to retire/resign/quit. They are just running for office they have not won the election. Now once they win then the boss they currently have should have a policy in place.
The more rules you have like this, the more UNLIKELY every day people will be able to run for office. This is a slippery slope issue and we are once again repeating history.
These types of restrictions are what kept the good old boys running local government for so long because only they could afford it. Any barrier to voting. Any barrier to holding office moves us back to a time where the voices of the many meant next to nothing.
What’s next, job status . . . . income . . . land ownership? Pass this and its coming.
i think all of bocc should resign right now.
yes they must resign prior to running, No if’s and or buts.
100% opposed to this. The existing rules prevent campaigning on the clock.
Plenty of good people who may be uniquely qualified will opt out to prevent turmoil in their private lives. Support democracy and do not limit the pool of candidates.
I agree with Kim. If Commissioners want “resignation before running,” they better to include themselves when they want another term; they’ve been getting fat County paychecks for a part-time job when they run.
Betcha they’d exempt themselves from what they want all other County employees to do.
This could lead to a really unfair playing field for candidates. For example, a person who really needs to stay employed vs. one with vast personal financial resources or someone who is not required to quit his/her job, is at an immediate disadvantage. Shame on us if we disregard talent by giving an extra advantage to candidates who can afford to be unemployed.
It is a stupid suggestion. Who quits one job to seek another? You work when you are paid to work and campaign on your own time.
@Jeff Bergosh, as one of your constituents, I want you to know that I do NOT think that this is a good idea or good for our county. This ordinance is designed to limit competition and keep people from running for office. Particularly, those in the county that do not have extra finances that will give them the liberty to quit their job to make a difference in our county as a prospective representative.
This ordinance should NOT be allowed to pass, if the BOCC does this, it’s a sign that they don’t care about the citizens of this county who are not as financially blessed as the commission and are out to keep them down and out of county government. This is exactly what our founders fought against.
There is no reason to pass such an ordinance, but the BOCC does have the right to not allow county employees to stump for office while on the county dime, but what they do during their off time is up to them. Taking their livelihood away simply for wanting to run for local office is something that I would expect from a communist nation, not in the the U.S.A.
“Does this include teachers and police and corrections officers?”
Teachers and police don’t work for the Board of County Commissioners. Corrections officers do.
“I honestly don’t remember but did Bergosh retire from the school board before he ran for commissioner?”
Yes. State law required him to resign to run.See the last line in the story.
The fact that the BCC even discussed the idea is shocking. Please ask Commissioner Bender to tell you which counties in Florida forbid county employees from running for elected office and which ordinance does it. He made the statement so he must know. Vet the info and then tell your readers. There are two specific state laws that would relate to this issue. County Attorney Rogers raised one though the BCC was not listening. Rather than drafting an ordinance, a county law with criminal penalties, a better option would have been for the BCC to tell Rogers what they wanted and to come back with a Memorandum of Law telling them if it was legal or not. Based on what I heard the board members say they want, it is either already illegal or they cannot make it illegal. Commissioner May complained that when he asks county employees for campaign contributions they sometimes refuse saying they cannot do so. Maybe there needs to be a law that says county commissioners cannot accept campaign contributions from anyone who works for the county or does business with the county.
It would be nice if politicians would just do a good job and not have to worry about blocking anybody who would run against them.
It is hard to see this as anything other than an attempt to limit competition at election time. The county attorney, Mr. Rogers, states it is already a crime for an employee to use county resources (phones, computers, time on the clock) to run for office and that should be enough.
I personally am amazed this does not violate the US Constitutions in some way.
I honestly don’t remember but did Bergosh retire from the school board before he ran for commissioner?
@ Resign….you’re on the right track. I completely support this idea. There is way tooooo much spending in government and political positions. It should be a requirement to take a leave of absence..(not annual or sick leave, non-payment of any kind). Use your own phone, computer, time and effort to run your campaign. It might cause the current county official to think he or she is in jeopardy of losing their job for not doing the best they could have done to support the citizens. It works in a similar way in private industry. If you are doing a good job…you keep your job. If you’re not doing a good job… you lose your job. Might be an excellent way to weed out those who DON’T have the citizens of the county in their best interest.
What happens to U.S. Senators who fail in their bid for Pres/VP? Let the same rules apply. We all know government is corrupt and a den of thieves, no need to pretend otherwise. It’s the way of the world and we just have to live with it and try to weed out the worst offenders. No one runs because they ‘want to serve the people’. No one.
In America who quits a job to make others happy?
Or anyone happy.
This is a jaded ploy.
Been on this good earth 68 years and never heard anyone want to vote out a job and hold people down..USING A COMMISSION STATUS to do just that.
Think in America if everyone had to quit a job 1st..to find and apply for a job.
Seems like someone is trying to keep others down that may have aspirations of a certain job that said person bringing it to the table.
No one should give up any job to try and better themselves.
This is purely a political ploy to knovk out competition.
Among other things
The commissioner’s and others need to do the job they are paid for.
You live in a glass house.
If the worry is someone is campaigning on tax $ ..deal with it then..dont create a sideshow so everyone will jump on board and knock out people that perhaps can do a better job.
Personally I will be glad to have a turnover of the politics in the county.
Worry about doing your job and not everyone else.
This isnt Russia!
Does this mean that current commissioners have to quit to run for another term? Think about it. That is what they are saying for other current employees. They are getting rid of their competition even before the elections begins.
Then how does the sheriff campaign? He is on the clock 24/7.
If you guilt or retire and want to come back start at the bottom.
Question: What does that mean for those who want to run for another term? Wouldn’t they also have to resign while they campaign? Who would cover their seat for the months from the filing date to the date of the election? Or would it be until the date the new winners are sworn in? Who would designate the temporary person? Does this then essentially create a term limit? So many questions.
You want to build your dream home ! Do you hire a builder that’s building 3 houses at the same time ? Then they don’t answer your phone call because they’re so busy ! Then they want you to fund a prodigious retirement fund for them ? Think about it !
When you think you are worried about losing then you change the rules. You keep the experienced and qualified workers in line this way.
Agree with William. If that happens we may be limited to independently wealthy or retired people running for office. Don’t we want the common person to have the opportunity to run for local office and make a positive difference?
Another step towards creating a ruling class. Not many people can afford to give up their source of income while spending their resources to pursue a possibility. We know it’s a crime to campaign using public resources. If that happens, file the criminal charges. Otherwise, let them use their personal time, computer, phone, etc. to conduct their campaign. You don’t require them to quit to buy a house, a car or apply for a different job.
Does this include teachers and police and corrections officers?
If a “leave of absence” means you can take a break to campaign then return only to bump your replacement, then no. If you leave your job to campaign and you lose but want to return to that company, agency, etc, then you start back at the bottom like everyone else.
Make them retire before running for any public office. You cant stop someone from sneaking around while employed to campaign! Retire to run with no guarentee of a rehire if they aren’t elected to public office.
If the concern is campaigning on tax payer dollars why not an unpaid leave of absence. This by far is a win win for everyone involved. The only reason an employee of the county would run for office is they feel they could do a better job than the current person or to fill a vacant spot. This way the employee/candidate is still considered as a valued employee to the county.