| LETTER: Penuel Shares Insights On Administrator of Elections |
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By: LETTER TO THE EDITOR
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Posted: Sunday, January 16, 2011 5:45 am
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As the outgoing Rutherford County administrator of Elections and my watch ends, I would like to share some insights with your readers as to how I approached this new challenge back in August of 2000 after I was appointed administrator.
First, I talked to the office staff about my background, family, and asked what each individual employee did in the office. I explained to them that the chairman had discussed his directions for me as the administrator but, that I sought their professional advice anytime.
I started out slow at first and sought help when needed. Little did we all know that the 2000 Bush-Gore Election would actually improve the election process. The process continues to change for the better each year.
Having both Military Public Affairs and past media experience taught me a lot about getting to know people in general. I knew it would be difficult to be successful in any line of work, especially in Elections, without having developed respect, credibility, accountability, fairness and integrity. These five attributes defines character of any leader.
Operationally, I did not have all the answers, but the staff and the many volunteer Election Day officials did. As election day warriors in the trenches, they learned how to perform election day tasks first hand and didn’t mind telling me what to change and when. I listened.
I gained respect and guidance from the chairman. Experience sometimes is the best teacher. He provided correct answers. I was hired to be the administrator, but sharing my thoughts and direction was also paramount to the successful operation of my responsibilities. I’m disappointed that efforts on my part to obtain guidance from the new chair in 2009 landed on deaf ears. Maybe he just didn’t remember the request.
I learned that as a leader the buck stops at your desk. As administrator I applied that philosophy. Team work was important during the administration of our elections, and I knew I would be ultimately responsible for the failures and whatever successes came our way.
We served the public and was always mindful as to who paid our salaries. One directive was to be fair to all. No exceptions! Period. What we did for one, we did for all. No favorites. This was my order of business.
During my 10-year plus tenure as the Rutherford County Administrator of Elections, we accounted for more than 500,000 votes, all of which were processed, counted and certified. The process was always open for inspection by anyone at every level. Regardless of who was elected, to whatever office, the process of fair and open elections was most important.
Our motto was to remember the letter “P”, which stood for PERCEPTION. If we discovered the wrong signal could be sent out, we regrouped and called a different play.
It’s been an honor to serve the citizens and voters of Rutherford County for the past 10 years. No one is perfect, I’m certainly not. I was not a pawn for the Democrats as some indicated early on. Now the same comments are being cited that the present administrator will be just that for the Republicans. I hope not. If so, failure will prevail. Hopefully this PERCEPTION can change through time. The law calls for the position to be filled by a Democrat, Republican or Independent by the Election Commission. The 3 and 2 vote majority rules. Maybe as a future alternative, to avoid controversy about the appointments, the administrator and election commissioners could be elected as many states have done for years. But just for the record, to eliminate any suspicion or idea that I was appointed to the position as a pawn to help the Democrats get elected here in Rutherford County, results will show that during my watch more Republicans were elected locally than Democrats.
On a personal note, I thank all who helped me along this successful journey, both Democrats and Republicans, especially the office staff and the Democrat members of the deletion commission. To the numerous amazing Election Day officials, I appreciate your help and friendship over the years.
Sincerely,
H. Hooper Penuel
5115 Lascassas Pk., Lascassas, Tn 37085
(615) 893-8130 |
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