Mitch Perry
Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin Beckner, who is termed out of office next year, has filed to run for the Clerk of the Circuit Courts in Hillsborough County.
Records filed with the Supervisor of Elections office shows that Beckner filed Thursday afternoon. He lists Gil Sainz, his longtime companion and now husband, as his campaign treasurer.
For the past 16 years Beckner has worked as a certified financial planner, and he says combined with his past six years on the Board of County Commission, he believes he’s well qualified for the position.
“First and foremost, the job at the clerk’s office is oversight and management of the people’s checkbook and investment portfolio,” he said Friday afternoon.
Becker also said if elected he wants to create what he calls an “integrated system of justice,” referencing his work with the county’s Juvenile Justice Task Force as well as helping to develop the expansion of the county’s civil citation program.
“It’s come to the conclusion of our stakeholders that we have all these multiple systems between agencies that don’t talk to one another, so my goal is to create an integrated system of justice in concert with all the stakeholders in the community.”
What’s intriguing about his decision is that the job is held by one of the elder stateswomen in Hillsborough County politics, Pat Frank. Like Beckner, she’s also a Democrat.
Frank is a legend in Hillsborough County politics.
She was first elected to office 43 years ago on the county school board. In 1976 she was elected to the Florida House of Representatives, and in 1978 she won a seat in the Florida Senate, where she held office until 1988. A decade later she was elected to the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners, where she was elected board chairman for three consecutive years by her colleagues. She then ran and won office for the Clerk of the Circuit Court, where she has served for the past decade.
Becker said it was Frank herself who called him a few months ago to say that she was contemplating retirement, and had he ever considered running for the position? He said he had not, but began spending the past few months doing so.
He said Frank may have had a change of heart, and told him in their last conversation that her decision would be predicated on her health, but that any such decision wouldn’t come until closer to the election. Frank is 85 years old. Becker, 43.
So for now, he’s going for it, without her blessing.
“My candidacy is not about Pat,” he said. “She’s a dear friend and a mentor of mine, but it’s about the future of the agency.”
Florida Politics contacted Frank on Friday, but she did not return a telephone call.
Although Beckner’s tenure in public life pales in comparison in terms of length of duty, he’s been a pioneer in being the first openly gay man to be elected to office in Hillsborough County, in 2008.
By all measures he’s been an effective commissioner, working on issues such as juvenile justice and personal injury protection fraud. He’s also been instrumental in bringing the county into the 21st century when it comes to issues regarding the LGBT community.
Becker’s victory over Brian Blair in 2008 was considered a major upset, because many people felt that the county wasn’t ready to elect an openly gay man. Since then he has led the way on issues such as repealing the ban on gay pride events, and getting gays, lesbians and transgendered people included back in the county’s human rights ordinance, as well as finally having a domestic partner registry installed.
Republicans rumored to be possibly interested in running for the position include County Commissioners Ken Hagan and Victor Crist.
The job pays $145,000.
