HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Hillsborough County School Board member Cindy Stuart has filed to run for Hillsborough County Clerk of the Circuit Court. She now will face former County Commissioner Kevin Beckner in the Democratic primary in August.
- Eventual winner will succeed Pat Frank, Clerk since 2004
- Commissioner Les Miller dropped out of race last September, citing health issues
- More Hillsborough County stories
Hillsborough County Commissioner Sandy Murman is the lone Republican in the race. The winner of Democratic race in August will then take Murman on in November to determine who will succeed Pat Frank, who has led the office since 2004.
“I want to build upon the work of Pat Frank and her staff and continue to enhance access to the clerk of the circuit court through technology,” Stuart said in a written statement. “Under Pat Frank’s 16 years as clerk, taxpayers received accountability, proficiency and leadership, with high ethical standards. I commit to continue in this tradition. That’s why I have received Pat Frank’s support as she plans to retire.”
Stuart was initially elected to the Hillsborough School Board in 2012, defeating long-time incumbent Jack Lamb. In January 2015 she was one-fourth of the coalition that moved to oust then superintendent MaryEllen Elia.
That controversial vote divided the Hillsborough community and compelled some elected officials to sharply criticize Stuart and her colleagues (April Griffin, Sally Harris and Susan Valdes) at the time. But it didn’t hurt Stuart, who easily won reelection in 2016.
Beckner, who served as a county commissioner from 2008-2016, announced his candidacy for the seat last fall – and likely never expected to receive Frank’s imprimatur. That’s because he ran a highly contentious race against her in the 2016 race for clerk of the courts.
In the end, Frank, a veritable icon in Hillsborough politics for decades, defeated Beckner decisively in the Democratic primary that year, 59 percent to 41 percent.
In a statement, Beckner said that during this time of the COVID-19 pandemic, he is focused on using his campaign network to keep neighbors informed with information about the virus.
“At the same time, we continue to build a diverse county-wide coalition of voters who have twice elected me to public office and are representative of our community at large,” he said. “Our campaign is prepared to compete at the highest level and I am thankful for the over 300 individual contributors, labor unions, elected officials, and community leaders who have given and are supportive of my campaign thus far.”
The race for clerk of the court has had some moving parts over the past year. In May 2019, Hillsborough County Commissioner Les Miller announced that he would run for the seat in 2020, and announced that Frank was backing him for the race. But citing health issues, he dropped out of the race in September (and is now backing Stuart).
Doug Bakke, a 26-year veteran in the department and the chief deputy to Frank, then announced in October that he would run for the Democratic nomination. But in January, he dropped out.
Murman has raised the most funds of any candidate to date – over $193,000. She is term-limited from her District 1 seat this fall.