Local Elections: Democratic Tax Collector Nominee

This about the Democratic primary for the office of Brevard County Tax Collector. The election is on August 26, 2008.

This is the first partisan election I've covered on here and the dynamic is definitely different than the nonpartisan elections because we need to consider the general election. In the republican primary there are two candidates (this is an open seat - no incumbent) who both seem to be well funded because I've seen their signs far more often then either the Democrats...

The Republicans

First, there's Jackie Colon, who seems to be very well funded (I even saw that commercial on her web site on actual TV!) and is even endorsed by Governor Crist. It seems like her signs are everywhere - far more than anyone else in this race.

Colon's opponent is Lisa Cullen, whose web site claims she won some kind of straw poll and is even endorsed by the AFL-CIO. I've seen her signs all over the place too - although I still think Colon is better funded - and the Crist endorsement makes it clear the republican establishment is strongly behind her. I would be surprised if Cullen wins this one.

Carie Exline

Judging by the signage on my route to work, Exline seems to be the best funded of the Democrats. Her campaign web site is fairly blah but I like the fact that not only is she a CPA, but she that has a masters degree in accounting. I'm not sure exactly what being the Tax Collector involves, but it seems like a strong background in accounting would be good. She is currently an internal auditor for the Brevard County Clerk of Courts. Having a background in Brevard local government also seems like a good thing to me.

Laura Dils

Again, judging only from signage - Dils seems to be less well funded then Exline - I don't think I've seen any signs for her. From her web site, it seems she's running as the "outsider" with statements like "I am the only candidate running for Tax Collector who is not a career politician or currently employed by one." In something like a local election, I just don't see how that's a great thing to brag about. It's not like she's Mr. Smith Going To Washington - this is only Brevard County - it seems like knowing how local government works would only make you better at something like Tax collector. In national elections I tend to be pretty anti-establishment - so I guess this attitude is a little odd for me - but I just find her sales pitch kinda cheesy.

Also, she seems to emphasis that she's from the "private sector" with a degree in business and a resume filled with titles like "regional manager", "marketing specialist", and "banking consultant." Maybe it's just my personal biases - but I don't find this background too appealing or impressive when talking about government posts.

Conclusion

So I don't have a lot of hard facts on this one - since I don't know what the hot button "issues" are in a tax collector race and the web pages are all pretty blah - I'm judging this one more on feel. As you can tell, I think Exline is probably the better candidate here that's probably who I'm going to vote for. She's got a good resume, knows local government, and appears to be running a more successful campaign than Dils (which is going to be important if the apparently well funded Colon wins the republican race).