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Commissioners clash over canvassing-board role and past campaign conduct during meeting
Summary
A dispute surfaced when one commissioner accused another of campaigning while assigned to a canvassing board; the chair acknowledged a past error and described steps taken, while other commissioners urged clarity and adherence to rules.
During commissioner reports, tensions rose when one commissioner accused Commissioner Murphy of campaigning while serving on a canvassing board in a prior election and called for Murphy to step down from this year’s canvassing board.
Commissioner (speaker 9) said a canvassing-board member "cannot campaign for or against anybody on a ballot" and accused Murphy of violating that expectation last year. The commissioner called on Murphy to resign from this year’s canvassing board.
The chair responded that he had stepped down from the canvassing board last year after acknowledging an error in judgment and said he believed he remained the only qualified commissioner for some canvassing duties. "I did come out in opposition to the rules and support Randy Fine... I did," the chair said, adding he had resigned from the canvassing board previously and had not publicly campaigned in the current cycle.
The exchange underscored friction among commissioners but produced no formal disciplinary action; commissioners moved on to other items after a review of the canvassing-board rules and assurance that alternates or judges could be assigned if needed.
