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A Brief History of the
Pinellas County Office of Supervisor of Elections
(Extracted from "Tampa Bay History" Published by the Department of History at the University of South Florida; Volume 17, Number 2; Fall/Winter 1995)
Extract Edited by Jack Killingsworth in 2008
Pinellas County split off from Hillsborough County in 1912 and since then the following Pinellas Citizens have served as Supervisor of Elections. The office was then known as Supervisor of Registration.
- Albert S. Meares: January 5, 1912 until December 13, 1913 when he resigned
- Arthur Campbell Turner: Served from 1914 until 1916. Mr. Turner had three wives and 20 children.
- Charles A. Wilcox Sr.: Served from 1916 to 1918 he later served as Tax Collector
- Harry Hammock: Served for three months in 1924
- John W. Davis: Served from 1924 until 1936. He lost both legs to Diabetes in the 1920s. He learned to walk on artificial limbs and crutches. He was defeated for re-election in 1936.
- William C. "Billy" Reid: Served from 1936 until 1948. He had Polio and walked with crutches. It was during this time that the first Voting Machines were used.
- Warren A. Wright: The first Republican served from 1948 until 1951 when he resigned due to poor health.
- Richard M. Collins: Appointed by Governor Fuller Warren. Served until 1952 when he was defeated in the Democratic Primary
- Wilda J. Cook: Republican, served from 1952 until 1972. During this time the number of registered voters grew from 78,000 to over 250,000. Her staff grew from 6 to 23. She retired after suffering a stroke.
- Jeanne Khoyi Nelson: Served from 1972 to 1976.
- Charles J. Kaniss: served from 1976 until 1988. He defeated Myrtle Smith, the last Democrat to run for this office. He chose not to run for re-election in 1988.
- Dorothy Walker Ruggles: served from 1988 until 2000 when she resigned due to poor health. She had been deputy administrator of the office.
- Deborah Clark was appointed to the office by Governor Jeb Bush in 2000 and was elected for a full 4 year term after a hard fought Republican primary election. She was unopposed in 2004. She too had been an administrator in the office prior to becoming Supervisor of Elections.
In 2007 Jack Killingsworth, an Electrical Engineer and long term resident of Pinellas, became the first Democrat to run for Supervisor of Elections in 32 years and challenge the cycle of inheritance of this important office from one insider to another.
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