Hernando County Supervisor of Elections
Republicans Shirley Anderson, Mark Caskie and Jason Yungmann in the primary
The race to fill the seat of retiring Hernando County elections supervisor Annie Williams has attracted three Republican candidates: Shirley Anderson, Mark Caskie and Jason Yungmann. All are vying Aug. 14 for the opportunity to run against the lone Democratic challenger, Elizabeth Townsend, in the November election. Of the three hopefuls, only Anderson has political experience. She ran unsuccessfully against Williams in 2008. — Logan Neill, Times staff writer| Shirley Anderson, 54 | Mark Caskie, 52 | Jason Yungmann, 38 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Republican | Republican | Republican |
| Occupation | Political consultant | Code enforcement officer | Teacher |
| Experience | A fifth-generation Floridian, Anderson was born and raised in DeFuniak Springs. She began her career in politics serving as a legislative assistant for Ginny Brown-Waite when Brown-Waite was in the Florida Senate. Currently, she is district director for U.S. Rep. Richard Nugent. Her memberships include the Brooksville Rotary Club and the Nature Coast Republican Women's Network. | A 14-year resident of Hernando County, Caskie is a retired Air Force senior master sergeant. He has worked for Hernando County as an animal control officer and a code enforcement officer. He has held his code enforcement position with the city of Brooksville since 2002. His community experience includes board positions with Hernando County United Way, and he is scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 446 in Spring Hill. | A lifelong resident of Hernando County, Yungmann has taught American history and social studies for 15 years in the county school system. He is currently the social studies department head at Explorer K-8 School. His other activities include singing and acting in community theater. He is currently the host of a Saturday morning talk program on radio station WWJB-AM 1450. |
| Education | Associate's degree, Pensacola Junior College; bachelor's degree, University of South Florida. | Associate's degree, Community College of the Air Force; bachelor's degree, Excelsior College | Bachelor's degree from the University of Florida |
| What attracts you to the job? | Anderson cites her lifelong passion for the electoral process as the basis for wanting to encourage citizens to exercise their voting privilege. She believes that an efficiently run office will enhance its citizen outreach capabilities. | Caskie says he wants to create a community of people who are passionate about the importance of being a knowledgeable voter. He cites his military leadership experience and knowledge of budgetary matters as assets that will enable him to perform the job well. | As an American government teacher, Yungmann says he recognizes the need to instill passion for the electoral process, not just in adults, but young people as well. Doing so, he says, requires the kind of enthusiasm he would bring to the office. |
| Considering the call for all county government agencies to trim expenses, what areas would you focus on? | Anderson says she would review every program and policy to see where she could maximize efficiency. In addition, she would explore ideas such as sharing employees with other county agencies when the workload demands it. | Caskie believes that controlling expenses is best achieved by improving efficiency. He believes that improving the agency's technology might eliminate some duplication of work. | Yungmann says he would rather try to do more with what already exists than to make changes that might affect the office's duties. He would encourage more creativity from the staff and supports using volunteers for some in-house tasks. |
| What would you do to encourage greater voter participation? | Creating more outreach programs in the community would be a priority, Anderson says. Other ideas include revamping the agency's website and enhancing voter education efforts with the creation of an electronic newsletter to keep people informed. | Caskie says he would try to find ways to make the agency more visible to the public. Those might include attending public functions, schools and fairs, for example. He believes social media, such as Facebook, is an excellent way to "grab the attention of younger voters." | Yungmann says he would explore inexpensive ways to make the agency more visible in the community through radio and TV public service announcements. He also favors increasing voter education in the county's schools. |
| Assets | Home, vehicles, property | Home, vehicles | Home, vehicles rental property |
| Liabilities | Mortgage, car loan | Mortgage, car loan, personal loans | Mortgage, personal loan |
| Income | Salary | Salary, military retirement, disability | Salary, rental property income |
| Personal | Divorced, three children | Married, three children | Married, one child |
| Website | voteshirleyanderson.com | markcaskie2012.com | votejy.com |
| shirley@voteshirleyanderson.com | mark@markcaskie2012.com | jasony96@hotmail.com |
Hernando County Supervisor of Elections
Loading...