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Charlotte County Electoral Board tightens meeting-notification rule after dispute
Summary
After Secretary Glenwood Foster reported an unannounced Jan. 27 budget meeting, the Charlotte County Electoral Board voted Feb. 3, 2021, to require that any board member meeting with the County Administrator or Registrar notify all board members; the change followed concerns about FOIA posting and transparency.
Chairman Lawrence Clark convened the Charlotte County Electoral Board on Feb. 3, 2021, and the board moved quickly from routine business to a governance dispute over a Jan. 27 budget meeting.
Secretary Glenwood Foster said he learned two board members had attended a budget meeting with the County Administrator without notifying the third member and that he feared the chairman and the interim registrar were attempting to exclude other board members from the electoral board/registrar budget process. Foster proposed a motion "that if any Electoral Board member meets with the Registrar or any County Official all Board members should be notified," which was not seconded.
Chairman Lawrence Clark then offered a separate motion that "if there is a meeting with the County Administrator all board members should be asked to be there if one is there," a motion seconded by Vice Chair Warren Browning and carried by the board. Rebecca Daly, the Democratic Party voter liaison who attended the meeting, raised related FOIA concerns about notification of public meetings and requested to be added to the board's email list; the board directed the secretary to add her as requested.
The board characterized the change as a step toward transparency and clearer internal communication. The Registrar, Eric Goode, and the board agreed to schedule a follow-up meeting with the County Administrator on Feb. 16 or 17 to finalize budget details and to ensure any future meetings are properly noticed.
The board did not record a roll-call tally for the notification motion in the minutes beyond noting the motion carried.
