Campbell, Young in runoff for Bar president
Campbell, Young in runoff for Bar president
Board of Governors members Gwynne Young and Skip Campbell are meeting in the runoff election for Bar president, after board member Jake Schickel was eliminated in March balloting.
Runoff ballots will be mailed to Bar members on around April 1, and must be returned to the Bar’s election company by 11:59 p.m. on April 22.
The March voting also resulted in a runoff for a Board of Governors seat representing the Fourth Circuit, while four other board races were decided. Four contests for the Young Lawyers Division Board of Governors were also decided.
Young led the initial round of balloting to be the 2012-13 Bar president with 7,498 votes. Campbell was second with 6,782, while Schickel received 3,973 votes.
“First and foremost, it feels good to be in first, and I’m going to continue to work hard, and I hope to prevail,” Young said of the election results.
For the runoff, she added: “I’m going to continue to focus on the things I’ve focused on throughout the campaign. I think we have to continue to work on judicial funding, which is the Bar’s No. 1 priority. I think we need to continue to focus on how we assist our members who have been adversely affected by the economy. I think we need to continue to look at the discipline system to make sure we are keeping pace with the increased complaints.”
She also said the Bar needs to work on providing representation for government lawyers, “because they’re a large percentage of our members.”
“I feel very good, it was very close between Gwynne and me,” Campbell said of the election results. “She has been campaigning for two years and I just got in in December.”
A former 10-year member of the Florida Senate, Campbell said he will continue to promote his legislative experience, especially with a spate of bills being considered that attack or undermine the courts.
“The issues are clear and present, and that is the attack on the court system and my ability to communicate with the legislators,” he said. “This is scary. There are legislators who do not like the direction of these bills, especially in the Senate, and now it’s just getting them to see the evils of the bills and getting them to vote according to their conscience and the constitution.”
Schickel said, “I was honored to have the opportunity to run for president of The Florida Bar. The Bar is a great organization, and I’m very, very proud to be a lawyer.
“It was a wonderful time campaigning and meeting so many attorneys around the state of Florida. I think it helped me and the rest of the leadership to meet the attorneys.”
Schickel said he was disappointed by the relatively low turnout and that campaigning helps improve communications with Bar members.
“I hope we can engage the members, because a vigorous election is the best way for the leadership to understand the needs, wants, and desires of the membership,” he said.
The winner of the runoff will be sworn in a president-elect at the June Annual Convention in Orlando, when current President-elect Scott Hawkins takes the oath as president.
In the Board of Governors runoff contest, Michael G. Tanner got 606 votes and Reginald Luster received 474 votes to make the runoff for the Fourth Circuit, Seat 2, race. Arthur Hernández came in third with 261 votes. Ballots for that race will be mailed around April 1 and must be returned by 11:59 on April 22.
In the decided board races:
• In the Fifth Circuit, Seat 1, Lawrence S. Kibler defeated incumbent Denise A. Dymond Lyn 160 to 87.
• In the Sixth Circuit, Seat 2, Sandra Fascell Diamond defeated Michael J. Faehner 467 to 314.
• In the 13th Circuit, Seat 3, Margaret Diane Mathews defeated Thomas R. Bopp 834 to 741.
• In the 15th Circuit, Seat 4, Gary S. Lesser got 863 votes, besting Ron P. Ponzoli, Jr., with 416 and Seth A. Marmor with 317.
For the Young Lawyers Division Board of Governors races:
• Schuyler A. Smith bested Carlos Filipe Llinás Negret 252 to 191 in the 11th Circuit, Seat 2.
• Sorraya M. Solages defeated Daniel Wasserstein 283 to 116 in the 11th Circuit, Seat 4.
• Miles A. McGrane IV outpolled Aaron Michael Clemens 194 to 164 in the 15th Circuit, Seat 3.
• Ashley N. Sybesma bested Chad Thomas Van Horn 163 to 82 in the 17th Circuit, Seat 3.
