Nassau County gearing up for local elections this summer

2016_ELECTION_LOGOSubmitted by Suanne Z. Thamm
Reporter – News Analyst
March 29, 2016 5:31 a.m.

 

Although it is still early in the local election cycle, the August 2016 Republican Primary is looking to be the race that will decide at least seven local races:

Clerk of Circuit Court and Comptroller

Nassau County Commissioner, District 3 and District 5

School Superintendent

Supervisor of Elections

Tax Collector

Ocean Highway and Port Authority District 2

Two or more Republicans have filed to run for each office listed above. This is subject to change, since there is still time for other candidates to file for these races and other races that currently do not appear to have generated either much interest or a contest.

According to the Supervisor of Elections (www.votenassau.com) the following list represents all the elected county positions to be contested this year:

Nassau offices

As of this writing 19 Republicans, 3 NPAs (No Party Affiliation) and one Libertarian have filed to run in partisan races, and two individuals—incumbents Gail Cook and Kimberly Fahlgren—have filed to run in non-partisan School Board races.

No Democrat has filed to run in any partisan contest.

No one has yet filed seeking the nonpartisan offices of Amelia Island Mosquito Control Group 1; Heron Isles Community Development District Seats 1, 3 and5; and Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor, Groups 2 and 4.

In order to appear on the 2016 ballot, a candidate must qualify between noon on June 20 and noon June 24. There are different qualifications for the various positions. Generally speaking, they include executing an oath, filing an ethics and financial statement, paying a filing fee or submitting valid petitions. Those interested in learning more about running for a specific position should visit www.votenassau.com and consult the Candidate Information Sheets available there.

election schedule

Since Florida is a closed primary state, the August primary will be a de facto general election for these races as of this writing. Technically, the filing of a Libertarian candidate in the Superintendent of Schools race, and the filing of unaffiliated candidates in the races for Clerk of Courts, Nassau County Sheriff and Nassau County Commissioner District 5 means that the official election results won’t be confirmed until the November election results are known.

But since third party or no-party candidates historically pull in few votes, their odds of beating Republican candidates in a strongly Republican county are slim. That is, assuming that such candidates are serious contenders and not just filing to block non-Republicans from voting in the Primary election.

What may not be known to as many voters is that positions on the Nassau County Executive Boards of both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party are also elected positions. The same holds true for each Party’s State Committeeman and State Committeewoman. Information on qualifying for those positions is also listed on the Supervisor of Elections website. There is no fee required to seek these positions, but an oath must be executed.

Nassau pol par