by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
The deadline for voting on candidates for The Florida Bar president and the board of governors is midnight tonight and four Jacksonville attorneys will be awaiting the results.
Jake Schickel is running for the position of president, which opened a seat on The Florida Bar board of governors from the Fourth Judicial Circuit when he stepped down.
Jacksonville attorneys Arthur Hernandez, Reginald Luster and Mike Tanner are running for that seat. Members of The Florida Bar can vote online at www.floridabar.org with their Bar number and PIN.
“Two years ago, the Seventh Judicial Circuit board of governors race had a tie vote,” said Schickel. “They had to have a runoff, so every vote does count.”
Schickel is part of a three-way race for president, which hasn’t happened in 26 years. The 1984 race saw Patrick Emmanuel of Pensacola win in a runoff with William Trickel Jr. of Orlando. Michael Plunkett was third.
Schickel is running against Walter Campbell Jr. of Fort Lauderdale and Gwynne Alice Young of Tampa. All three are members of The Florida Bar board of governors.
The winner needs 50 percent of the vote plus 1, so, with three candidates, it is likely there will be a runoff.
“This is the first contested race since 2000, when Herman Russomanno of Miami was elected, and the first three-way race I can remember,” said Howard Coker, 1998 Florida Bar president. “I fully expect there to be a runoff.”
Coker ran unopposed, so he didn’t have to campaign as much as Schickel, his fellow partner at Coker, Schickel, Sorenson & Posgay has.
“This is what I call an old-fashioned election. Because you don’t have any polling, you don’t have any trending, you don’t have any tracking like you do in major political races. Three people put their hats in the ring and you just have to see how it shakes out,” said Coker.
“It would be a prestigious honor for our legal community for the legal leader of the state to be from this geographical area.”
The last Florida Bar president from Jacksonville, Hank Coxe, explained that it’s more about the person than the city.
“If you have the right person, it doesn’t matter where the person is from,” said Coxe. “I believe Jake Schickel is the right person.”
Both Coker and Coxe ran unopposed for the president’s seat.
“Thank God I didn’t have opposition,” said Coxe. “I think campaigning for the office may be as tough as holding the office.”
Coxe doesn’t have to look far for information to form that opinion. His fellow partner at The Bedell Firm, John DeVault, who was elected president of The Florida Bar in 1995, was involved in a contested race.
“I recommend it to everyone. Those lucky enough not to have opposition don’t take me very seriously, though,” said DeVault.
“It forces candidates to go out across the state and go into law offices large and small to talk to them and hear about their gripes. It gives you a better foundation for preparation of the office.”
Traveling throughout the state to meet with Bar members was a valuable learning experience for DeVault.
“I learned how little most lawyers know about the functions of the Bar,” said DeVault. “What things the Bar tries to do to help them in their profession. The Bar needs to let the lawyers understand what it does for them.”
The three past presidents have varied opinions on how technology has affected the campaign trail.
“Technology has made candidates more accessible to members of the Bar,” said Coker.
“I always assume it had to be worse in the days before emails, video conferencing, text messaging,” said Coxe. “I don’t know how people kept up.”
“The email process has made it different,” said DeVault. “But I still think the best way to campaign is to go the office, shake their hand and look them in the eye. I think technology gives them an excuse not to do that.”
Opinions varied on many issues, but the three agreed on the biggest issue the next president-elect of The Florida Bar will face.
“From what I’ve heard from Tallahassee and some of the shots being taken at the judiciary, the next president of The Florida Bar is going to face one of the most difficult tasks in the 50-some-year history of the Bar in Florida,” said DeVault.
“There’s no question in my mind that the next president of The Florida Bar will have to be intimately involved in aiding and helping the judiciary both in funding and manpower issues,” said Coker.
“The issues the president will be addressing will include dealing with the Legislature, judicial funding and prevent the eroding of true separation of powers,” said Coxe.
The Florida Bar consists of more than 90,000 members.
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