Susan Smith, Tricia Quinn and Norma Smith all cited some degree of tax experience during a busy final afternoon of campaigning Monday.
The three Lee County women are the only candidates for the tax commissioner’s post, and each will attempt to garner 50 percent of the votes, plus one more, today in the Republican general primary.
An office manager for Georgia Farm Bureau’s Leesburg office, Susan Smith said her 12 years of experience in auto insurance have provided her “daily connections” with the county tax and tag office.
She was named to Lee County’s board of tax assessors in 2006 on the heels of a countywide tax reassessment. “It was a great learning experience,” Smith said.
The Lee County tax commissioner’s office does not offer online bill payment, but Smith said she would not promise it.
“There are some new ideas, upgrades and changes that can be implemented, such as new technology, et cetera, but I’d have to make sure that the funding is available in order to do these things,” Susan Smith said.
“There are elderly people that don’t like the computer. It’s important to me that you still have that personal, one-on-one touch.”
While she’d love to see it, Smith says she doesn’t expect the race to end today. The date scheduled for a runoff between the top two finishers is Tuesday, Aug. 5, the same day as a special called Republican primary to fill the Senate District 13 nomination.
“If it takes three more weeks, I’ll go three more weeks,” Smith said.
Quinn said her 17 years of experience in county government — as adminstrator for the Lee County Utilities Authority and, previously, in county billing and as a field appraiser for the tax assessors’ office — qualify her for the tax commissioner’s office.
“I’d like to innovate,” she said, by putting the tax and tag office online, “like the rest of the State of Georgia,” and extending office hours beyond 4:30 p.m.
Quinn said she’s innovated before — implementing drive-by meter reading with the utilities authority, negotiating contracts that help the authority save money and increasing accuracy using financial software.
“This past year, we had an $8.2 million budget that I managed,” Quinn said. “I don’t believe either of my opponents can say they did that.”
Her husband, Jim Quinn, a Leesburg City Council member for 15 years, seeks election today as mayor against fellow councilman Sidney Johnson in a special called election. Jim Quinn also is co-owner of the Lee County Ledger, the county’s legal organ, but Tricia Quinn said she does not think her association with the newspaper represents a conflict of interest.
“If anything, it would be an asset to the community, because they will know everything,” Quinn said.
Quinn adds that she’ll bring a few “minor tweaks” to the tax commissioner’s office.
“It has a reputation for not being the friendliest office,” she said. “I would like to improve it ... to make serving the public the first priority.”
In a complaint filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in March, a former employee alleged she was discriminated against for having epilepsy, according to documents obtained Friday by The Albany Herald.
“I feel with all my heart that she (Johnson) singles me out because she thinks that I am slow and do not fit into her little circle,” read a complaint filed by Regina Lee. Lee was fired in March after about seven months with the office. She is the step-daughter of County Commissioner Dennis Roland.
A third tax commission candidate, Norma Smith, is a deputy tax commissioner in Johnson’s office, where she has worked for seven years.
“The main thing I have is experience in that office,” said Norma Smith, who is no relation to Susan Smith, “being familiar with the programs and with how things work — with the things that need to be changed and how to change things also.”
Norma Smith said the main change will be accepting debits and credits for tax payments online, and making taxpaying a one-stop annual event.
“The tax commissioner is the buffer between the county commissioners, the state laws and the taxpayers,” Smith said.
Smith, like Quinn, hopes for 50 percent plus one today to avoid a runoff, but will “without a doubt” keep campaigning through an Aug. 5 runoff.
She spent Monday afternoon on the telephone, calling customers.
“I truly do love it, and it’s a lot of the people that came into the office that I’ve already met and service there ... It’s very positive and I’m very excited and looking forward to serving the taxpayers,” Smith said.
Johnson would endorse none of the candidates to succeed her as tax commissioner but cited her own long experience in county government in her bid for the commission seat.
“Some people may want new blood. I’ve been involved a long time,” Johnson said.
She’s running for Commissioner Jo Ealum’s seat against newcomer Norman Hoover for the Leesburg seat, “not to try to micromanage, but to get involved with the different departments ... I’ve seen some wasteful spending. If I win they’ll be brought forward,” she said.
Johnson said she’s observed “unfair treatment over the years” involving raises.
“I’m going to vote no even if I’m the only one voting no, because I vote my convictions,” she said.
The winner of today’s primary could face Deborah Roland, the wife of Dennis Roland, who registered as an Independent but must obtain voters’ signatures and approval by the Lee Board of Elections to be placed on the Nov. 4 ballot.
“I’m just going to get out there and wave at the folks and leave it to the voters of the Leesburg District,” Johnson said.