Seminole commission chair asks for DeSantis investigation into county elections chief

A little over a month after Supervisor of Elections Chris Anderson posted an emotional video on TikTok claiming he’s encountered repeated racism among Seminole County leaders, Commission Chair Amy Lockhart sent a letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis, asking his office to intervene and investigate Anderson’s seemingly “erratic” and “combative” conduct.

County commissioners have “been made aware that a toxic, if not hostile, work environment exists” at the Supervisor of Elections office, Lockhart said in her Oct. 3 letter to DeSantis.

Lockhart also states that long-time employees have recently been terminated or resigned from Anderson’s office, and that “is a cause for concern” with the upcoming city elections on Nov. 7 in Oviedo and Lake Mary and primary elections in March 2024.

Lockhart also noted that Anderson, a fellow Republican, has had “indignant exchanges” with commissioners during budget hearings, and has been “antagonistic” with other county officials and residents.

“Mr. Anderson’s outward displays of resentment include candidates who will be on the ballot in an upcoming election. … One must wonder if they will be able to participate confidently in the electoral process and without fear of retaliation by the person counting the votes,” according to Lockhart’s letter.

But she stopped short of asking DeSantis to remove Anderson from office.

Lockhart, however, asked DeSantis to consider transferring election employees from other parts of the state to work at the Seminole elections office.

In an email to the Sentinel, Anderson said he was not aware of Lockhart’s letter until it was provided to him by the Sentinel on Monday. He called it “an unprofessional hit piece” and “further evidence of racial discrimination and retaliation” after expressing his concerns about the county.

“I’m saddened by Ms. Lockhart’s inexcusable attempts to interfere with a job I hold dear,” he said in his email.

DeSantis’ office did not respond to requests for comment, or answered whether he would move forward with an investigation requested by Lockhart.

Even so, whether DeSantis considers Lockhart’s request or ignores it remains to be determined.

DeSantis, after all, appointed Anderson in January 2019 to replace Mike Ertel as Seminole’s supervisor of elections after Ertel was selected to serve as Florida’s secretary of state in Tallahassee. Anderson has been Seminole’s County’s first and only Black constitutional officer.

But Ertel resigned a few weeks later after photos emerged of him wearing a blackface at a Halloween party in 2005, two months after Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, killing more than 1,000 people.

Ertel later apologized for the incident and said he did “something stupid.”

Anderson was elected to a four-year term in 2020. He said he plans to seek reelection in 2024.

In a TikTok video he posted in early September, Anderson claimed he’s encountered repeated racism from county leaders since he first took office nearly five years ago.

“I’ve experienced so much racism since I have been here,” Anderson said in the video alongside his wife. “The day after I was appointed [by DeSantis], my wife and I had a meeting with individuals in this county, white men, who told us: They said: ‘Listen, white people consider you as a Black person to be stupid, to be dumb, and that you’ll ‘F’ something up.’ That’s exactly what they said.”

In the video, Anderson also claimed that a former county commissioner while in office frequently tried “to kill projects slated for” his office.

On Sept. 6, days after Anderson’s video was posted, Lockhart said his accusations of racism should not be taken lightly and called it “a very serious claim and one that needs to be taken seriously.”

Anderson has long expressed frustration with commissioners and county staff for moving at a slow pace in plans for a new and larger headquarters for the Supervisor of Elections Office. It would replace the current cramped headquarters off East Airport Boulevard near the Orlando Sanford International Airport.

Seminole’s growing population and an increasing number of voters using mail-in ballots have meant his office has outgrown the current 18,000-square-foot building, Anderson said.

A consultant hired by the county is currently working on a space-needs study for the Supervisor of Elections Office that would determine an appropriate size for a new facility.

In her letter to DeSantis, Lockhart said Anderson was often combative with county commissioners during budget workshops and “has exhibited a fundamental lack of understanding” of developing the county’s annual financial plan. She said that “is a genuine cause for concern.”

Lockhart also claimed that Anderson posted — but then deleted soon after — other videos on social media platforms showing him with “erratic and threatening behavior” and “making wild allegations.”

Commissioner Jay Zembower said he welcomes an investigation by the Governor’s Office to make sure everything is OK at the county elections office, especially as several important elections will be held within a year.

“We don’t have control over the Supervisor of Elections office,” Zembower said. “The problem is that we have a very big presidential election next year. … And we do owe it to our constituents that we ensure that a good election will take place in 2024. We don’t have the ability to do an investigation. So, the only other alternative is to get someone in Tallahassee to take a look.”

In urging a DeSantis investigation, Lockhart said the county attorney told commissioners that she found “no viable process” for elections office employees to “whistle blow” when they encounter wrongdoing.

Lockhart added that she does not “relish the need” for a public investigation of Anderson.

“But I am left without much choice, as there appears to be no other means to resolve this,” Lockhart said in the letter.

mcomas@orlandosentinel.com