SUN CITY CENTER — As the current election season counts down to balloting, which of the following applies here:
In one contest half of the candidates are incumbents;
In one, the terms of service will vary even though all of the candidates are seated at the same time;
One seat in one competition will remain unfilled until after the vote;
All of the above.
Answer: this year each of the foregoing statements is true in connection with the SCC Community Association Board of Directors election set for November 30 and December 1.
Five candidates currently are after three seats opening up in the normal course of events. A sixth candidate has declared for a one-year position for which there is no competition.
Ed Barnes, current board president, Art Erickson, a newcomer to the board election process, David Floyd, a current director seeking election for the first time, Ed Jacobs, long time observer but first time candidate, and Sam Sudman, also a newcomer, all are vying for CA members’ approval for the customary three-year terms in office. Under ordinary circumstances, a director can serve two three-year terms consecutively.
Barnes, after serving his first term, is seeking another three years and Floyd, appointed last May to serve out until the first election the unexpired term of a former director, John “Woody” Nelson, now is interested in election to his first three-term.
A sixth candidate, Bob Black, is to fulfill the remaining year of Nelson’s term and will assume the one-year director’s seat as no opposition developed to compete for it.
The other vacancies on the board have been created by ending of Barnes’ first term, Black’s decision to take on only the one-year situation and the retirement of Director Don Schings, who soon will have completed two full three-year terms. Barnes has been board president two years running, Black has served as the board vice president during the last year and Schings, former board treasurer, has been particularly active in connection with regional transportation issues.
Yet another vacancy among the directors was created with the recent, sudden resignation of Director Anne Cross, citing “personal reasons.” Cross’ successful projects as a director included the 2009 holiday golf cart parade, the completed community plan and leadership in the golf carts crossing to WalMart movement.
The remaining, unfulfilled portion of the Cross term will be served by an appointee to the board seat selected by the newly constituted board when it convenes early in 2011, Barnes said this week. By law, that appointee then will serve until the next election.
Barnes, described by his vice president, Black, as a strong and fair leader, is a business consultant whose experience in the corporate world included senior management positions involving contract negotiations with the U.S. Department of Defense. He told The Observer this week that if elected to a second term he would focus on polishing the Sun City Center image to maintain its competitiveness as a retirement destination with such communities as The Villages in Central Florida. Identifying and implementing efficiencies and improvements to enhance SCC’s desirability is not unlike attaining sales agreements with DOD, he indicated.
Erickson, whose technical background includes 15 years with Texas Instruments working on radar and global positioning systems in America’s fighter aircraft, said he hopes his analytical skills might be useful applied to the various problems confronting the CA board. “I’m here to help,” he asserted, noting he’s most interested in SCC issues which relate to county governance and in disposition of the now-idle North Lakes Golf Course. The ability to assess the problem from all angles and break it down into components, he said, often can lead to satisfactory resolutions.
Floyd, a bio-chemist who taught on the college level, worked in major health and beauty products corporations and has served in elective positions on a city council and a school board, remains committed to long range planning, promotion and beautification on behalf of the community, he said this week. His first six months fulfilling an unexpired term have been a learning experience, he noted, indicating he’s ready to tackle development of a five or 10- year plan for maintaining the SCC standard among retirement centers, to work with Minto Communities, the new developer, in promoting the community and to create a program focused on upkeep of the Pebble Beach and S.R. 674 medians.
Jacobs is a Florida-licensed attorney whose background includes executive management in aluminum products manufacturing, responsible for several sections and some 2,000 employees. Since relocating to SCC about 15 years ago, Jacobs has been active with the Security Patrol, on his local architectural standards committee and was co-founder with the late Larry Brown of the SCC Golf and Social Club, Inc., which sought to spotlight both assets and liabilities in connection with the community’s golf courses and its related facilities. Jacobs said that as an elected director he would be sitting as a citizen of SCC committed to enhancing value of the community’s assets and interested in seeing “the board operate as it is mandated to do,” including activation of its standing committees such as the dormant legal committee.
Sudman, who spent 34 years in the U.S. Army reserves retiring with the rank of colonel, is a microbiologist who devoted a substantial portion of his career to directing public health laboratories in Tennessee and Illinois, overseeing technical support to a range of public health programs. He also holds a MBA in executive management. This background “taught me how to think,” he told The Observer, specifically how to apply holistic strategy analyses, how to attain conflict resolution and how to build consensus among diverse personalities. If elected, Sudman said he’d like to establish a working relationship with area chambers of commerce, as well as with Minto Communities and with ClubLink, the new golf course owner, in order to build the kind of surrounding business context the community needs to thrive.
Black, a current director completing his first term who has chosen not to seek another three-year stretch – “I would be almost 85 by the time I finished it and I have other things to do, too” – is a shoo-in for the remaining year on Nelson’s term. He said he’d like to see Barnes re-elected and re-appointed board president and see that issues not yet resolved are wrapped up. These include agreement with ClubLink concerning the use of the Sandpiper course by players from outside the community. Black, with an extensive background in public information, also said he would serve another year as vice president if asked to do so.
The candidates were introduced Wednesday (October 27), during the 7 PM SCC Community Association membership meeting in Community Hall but are not expected to speak about their candidacies. They will participate Wednesday, November 10, in a 7 PM meet-your-candidates session in Community Hall.
Early voting in the annual CA board election is slated for 7 AM to 2 PM, Tuesday, Nov. 30, in the Sandpiper Room on the Central Campus. Balloting continues Wednesday, Dec. 1, from 9 AM to 7 PM. in Community Hall. The re-constituted CA board of directors is to be formally seated in January, 2011.
Copyright 2010 Melody Jameson