Scott Randolph is at it again, but this time he is attacking and blaming a fellow elected Democrat, Supervisor of Elections Bill Cowles.
In front of the official Orange County Democratic Party meeting, Randolph blamed his recent failure to put partisan elections on the ballot on Supervisor Cowles and an apparent misinterpretation of Florida election law. It is always a little awkward when a Democratic Party Chair calls out and blames a Democratic elected official, but it’s even more uncomfortable when the Chair is the Tax Collector and is attacking the Supervisor of Elections of the same party.
Supervisor Cowles was not present at the meeting, however he did respond to the statements made by Randolph and firmly defended his staff and procedures.
“I am proud of the level of training received by our staff at my office and they have my utmost confidence,” Cowles said in an email. “I believe all aspects of the 2012 General Election, including enforcement of “No Solicitation” areas at polling places and early voting sites, were conducted in compliance with Florida Election Code and any directives received from the Florida Division of Elections.”
“My staff is fully experienced and well-versed in all aspects of conducting elections, including efficiently and accurately processing petitions (including constitutional initiative petitions, charter initiative petitions, and candidate petitions),” added Cowles in the email.
Cowles also pointed out that he personally accepted Scott Randolph’s petition letter for this issue at the Supervisor of Elections counter on October 14th. Two days later, his office’s letter of approval was mailed to Scott Randolph.
Randolph spent more than $33,000 on the failed “Ethical Orange” petition drive, including more than $20,000 of local Democratic Party money and resources. He personally donated the rest of the money spent from his personal political committee.
Supervisor Cowles has generally received high praises from the community and leaders for running the SOE office, and Orange County did not see many of the elections problems that other Florida counties faced in 2012.
