David Stafford trusts the process, and worked tirelessly so you do too
Escambia County Supervisor of Elections David Stafford is leaving office after nearly 20 years where he held the trust of the public in the county's election system. He'll work to help build trust in the nation's election system in his new role.
Sitting in his corner office overlooking Palafox Street the day after he announced he was retiring, Stafford told the News Journal that his confidence in how elections are run has only increased during his time in office.
"I think that the advancements that have been made particularly here, in Florida, over the last 24 years since the 2000 election have gone a long way toward increasing that confidence," Stafford said. "If you look at where things were after 2000 to where they are today, I think it's a significant difference. I think Florida is looked upon as a model for other states."
Taking a new job
Stafford announced Dec. 19 that he would be stepping down from his position on Jan. 15 to take a job in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
Stafford will be an election security advisor for the agency covering the southeast region, but he'll remain in his hometown of Pensacola.
In his new job he will act as a liaison with state and local election officials to provide assistance with election security issues.
"These election security advisors will help build even stronger connective tissue between state and local election officials and our team at CISA," CISA Director Jen Easterly said in a press release about the new positions this summer. "They will work directly for our regional directors and with our cybersecurity and protective security advisors to ensure CISA’s capabilities and services are being optimally employed to meet the unique needs of each state or locality."
Stafford said he was encouraged to apply for the job and went through a long interview process that culminated in December when he was offered the position.
"After a lot of thought and deliberation and talks with family, I decided that it was the right time and the right place," Stafford said.
Deciding to run
If history is any guide, tenures are long in the Escambia County Supervisor of Elections office.
Stafford is only the third person to hold the job since 1952 when Joe Oldmixon was elected. Oldmixon was elected under Florida's old constitution when the position was called supervisor of registration, and he served 41 years in the job until his death in 1994.
Oldmixon's successor was his then-chief deputy Bonnie Jones, who served in the position until she retired in 2004, leaving an open seat.
It was a last-minute decision in 2004 that led Stafford to enter the race for the supervisor of elections on the last day of candidate qualifying.
Stafford had returned home to Pensacola after working for former U.S. Rep. Joe Scarborough, serving as his chief of staff and also as a senior writer and producer when Scarborough began his television career at MSNBC.
Stafford said he had friends who encouraged him to run for the supervisor of elections position when he came home.
"Initially, I declined, and then finally, actually, it came into the last day of qualifying, and I filed, and then ran a pretty quick campaign and was ultimately successful," Stafford said. "I saw it as an opportunity to serve, and it was something that interested me and something I thought that I could be good at."
Stafford defeated four other candidates in the Republican primary and easily won the general election against his Democratic opponent.
"I'm in this thing for the long haul," Stafford told the News Journal in July 2004 after filing to run. "I'm in it to win. I have the right plan and the right vision, and no one's going to work harder than me."
Back in the present, sitting in his office that is filled with photos of his family and awards and recognitions he's won for his service in office, Stafford said when he was elected to his first term, he had no idea that he'd serve in the position as long as he has.
"I pretty quickly realized that I wanted to run for that first re-election in 2008, but then beyond that, I literally took a very conscious decision each time whether or not I wanted to run again and felt like I was in a position where I still could have something to offer," Stafford said.
Who will replace Stafford?
Stafford has recommended his chief deputy Sonya Daniel take over the position when he leaves.
Stafford said Daniel has the experience and a long history working in the elections office, including running the office's poll worker training. Before that she was Escambia County's public information officer during two major hurricanes and the 2010 oil spill.
"She's a proven dedicated public servant, and I think she would step into the job seamlessly," Stafford said.
Stafford credits his success in the office to the staff he inherited from Oldmixon and Jones, including two staff members who ran against him in the 2004 campaign.
"They both stayed on as a testament to their dedication to the office, and that gave me a huge head start in having experienced people that were good at their jobs, and they knew what they were doing," Stafford said.
It will be up to Gov. Ron DeSantis to appoint Stafford's replacement, and whoever he appoints will gain a huge incumbency advantage heading into the 2024 election while also administering that election.
Already, politicking has begun for Stafford's replacement. State Rep. Michelle Salzman posted on social media she supported former State Rep. Dave Murzin as a replacement. Others have thrown out the names of Escambia County Commissioner Robert Bender and former Pensacola Mayor Grover Robinson for the job.
Increased pressure on election officials
Over the last 20 years, Stafford has become one the most respected local politicians by managing to stay out of political battles.
Stafford said the confidence and trust of voters is one of the top requirements of the job beyond managing the complex logistics of running an election.
"The goal for local election officials is to be the trusted source," Stafford said. "… What we've always tried to do is just focus on doing the job and staying out of the political fray and conducting elections in a transparent and non-political manner."
Since the 2020 election, local election officials have come under increasing pressure largely as the result of President Donald Trump supporters' unhappiness over the results. Many bought into to false claims and conspiracy theories about election manipulation that spread like wildfire on social media.
When asked about this, Stafford did what he's become so well respected for over the last 20 years: avoided turning his comments political while still giving an honest answer.
He said the best way to combat misinformation about elections is to communicate the election process to the public and encourage public participation in the process.
"For instance, in Florida, every election has either been audited or recounted since 2006," Stafford said. "So long before (audits) became the standard, Florida was auditing our elections."
New methods that increase voting access, like early and mail-in voting, introduced over the last 20 years became widespread during the pandemic.
"I think that created an opportunity for people to challenge the system, particularly if they didn't agree with the results," Stafford said. "And so, there's been a lot of effort that's gone into trying to make sure that the public understands how elections are run and has faith in how they're conducted."
Becoming a 'footnote'
Stafford said the biggest thing he'll miss about the job is the outreach to school-age children and teaching them about civics and how elections work.
Looking to the future of the office, Stafford remained humble and said he hoped whoever replaces him would do so well people would forget who came before.
"I've said this a couple of times," Stafford said. "I hope that I just end up being a footnote."
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: David Stafford leaves a legacy of trust in Supervisor of Elections job
