OrlandoCommunityNews

Because voting is near and dear to my heart, I have created this section, Election Connection, to keep voters in Pine Hills and its surrounding communities informed of what’s happening in local, state and national elections.

Stories and photos will be posted under this main tab and here is some general information that every voter here needs to know.

First, if you have never registered to vote and you want to vote for the next election (the August primaries) you must register by MONDAY, JULY 16, 2012. (postmarked application or received in the Orange County Supervisor of Elections office) If you want to change your party affiliation, you must do so by that same date also. The next election date is Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2012.

Even if you have voted in the past, you should verify that you are registered to vote for the upcoming August primaries.

Why? Well, for one, things may have changed on your end. For two, things have definitely changed on the state of Florida’s end.

Many of you have moved since the last general election in 2008 so update your address with the elections office. Same thing if you have changed your name for whatever reason, fill out the form and send it back or take it back to the elections office.

Like me, you may have received a notice from the elections office that Florida law changed recently, regarding signature verification of absentee ballots.

If you normally vote by absentee ballot or you originally registered to vote before 1995, fill out the form from the office and send it back before July 16. It comes with a No Postage Necessary envelope; you don’t even have to pay for the stamp to make the update!

“When in doubt, fill it out,” said Phyllis Hancock, president of the Philip Randolph Institute of Central Florida, a civil rights organization.

Hancock, speaking at a voter education program recently at Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church in Eatonville, said that statistics show that 60 percent of provisional ballots are tossed out and not counted. Provisional ballots are given out and used on election day for voters whose information has to be verified at a later date. If it turns out that you voted at the wrong precinct, your vote will not be counted, she said.

Local activists like Hancock are doing their part to inform as many voters (and prospective voters) of changes going on statewide. It’s up to us to get out and do the work…vote our interests and for the candidates whose ideals best match our interests.

That is it for now but stay connected because there is more! Stories on new districts, new and incumbent candidates, early voting and amendments are coming soon!

© Orlando Community News, 2012

Residents meet candidates at the recent Candidate Forum at Pine Hills Community Center.

A few hundred residents, mostly from the Pine Hills community, made up what organizers called a record crowd on Thursday night, attending the annual Candidate Forum, sponsored by the Pine Hills Community Council and Robinswood Homeowners Association.

Nearly 30 candidates running for nine different local and state offices were on tap to introduce themselves, talk about why they decided to run and answer anonymous questions from the audience.

During his presentation, Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said over the past two or more years the crime rate in Pine Hills was reduced overall by 27 percent. One of his challengers said Pine Hills is a community divided by how it is served by the sheriff’s office and he wants to change that.

“Pine Hills should have its own substation, with deputies who live here,” said John Tegg, one of the three candidates running against Demings.

To the shock of many audience members, one candidate for Orange County Tax Collector, Jim Huckeba, said he was running mainly to eliminate the position altogether, saying it was an administrative position that cost more money annually that it should (more than $150,000 a year).

The candidates also shared their ideas on everything from streamlined process for renewing driver’s licenses (kiosks), customized hours for customers needing to do business with the Clerk of Court to lowing rent costs for the Orange County’s Property Appraisers office in downtown Orlando, finding jobs for veterans (and ex-felons who have ‘paid their debt to society’) and revisiting the effectiveness of the F-CAT.

Several residents in attendance, including one woman who has lived in Pine Hills for 46 years, said they thought the forum was good, saying it gave them a chance to actually meet the candidates running for office. “Often you see their names on the ballot and you have no idea who they are and what they stand for,” one of the residents said.

Candidates in attendance include:

• Tim Adams and Randy Ross for Orange County Clerk of Courts – Both Write In candidates. Seat currently held by Lydia Gardner.
• Jerry Demings, JohnTegg, Mike Greene and Billy Frank Norris for Orange County Sheriff. Seat currently held by Jerry Demings.
• Rick Singh for Orange County Property Appraiser. Seat currently held by Bill Donegan.
• Jim Duffy, Jim Huckeba and Vicki Vargo for Orange County Tax Collector. Seat currently held by Earl K. Wood.
• Bill Cowles, Daniel Fanelli for Orange County Supervisor of Elections. Seat currently held by Bill Cowles.
• Kat Gordon, Mike Scott and Michael Smith for Orange County School Board District 5. Seat currently held by Kat Gordon.
• Patricia Fox, Sandra Maldonado-Ross and Nancy Robbinson for Orange County School Board District 6. Seat currently held by Nancy Robinson.
• Fritz Sede and Geraldine Thompson for State Senator District 12.
• Randolph Bracy III, Shannon Currie, Heinie Heinzelman and Beryl McClary for State Representative District 45.
• Bruce Antone, Sean Bradford, Jason Samuel Henry, Rosalind Johnson and Pam Powell for State Representative District 46.

Voters will choose candidates for many of these positions during the Aug. 14 primary election. If you are not registered to vote or if you need to make any changes to your registration, you must do so by July 16 to vote in that primary election.

© Orlando Community News, 2012