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round of Republicans elected to open county offices. And that can be accomplished quite simply by changing one's voter registration to Republican by July 28. That action will allow all such RINO Democrats and NPAs to vote in the Republican primary on Aug. 26, particularly as it relates to the selection of two new county commissioners to replace Joe Barbetta and Nora Patterson, who are barred by term limits from seeking another term. (Yes, we are assuming that the general election will have no impact on these primary results.) Democrats and NPAs in Sarasota County already are aware that almost every election affords them only the opportunity to select the lesser of evils, in the hope that the county and state can survive until the next election, at which time more painful non-choices can be made. But we must not let such defeatist thoughts deter us now. By changing our party affiliation to Republican en masse, we at least could minimize the impact of the more oner- ous choices on the primary ballot by electing the least objectionable candidate. The political status quo has yielded several Republican candidates over the years who could be considered RINOs, as they per- haps believed taking on that mantle was the most expedient means of gaining elec- tion. Former County C o m m i s s i o n e r J o n T h a x t o n c o u l d b e c o n s i d e r e d a good example. Despite serving on the County Commission as a Republican, he was a strong defender of the pristine environment in the county. Were he still on the commission, he would be fight- ing to block developer-led efforts to undo the county's 2050 Plan. More important, he could have benefited from mass defections to the Republican Party prior to his primary showdown with incumbent Supervisor of Elections Kathy Dent. In a perfect world, where Republican leg- islators had not subverted the will of the people by hamstringing the open primaries constitutional amendment, Democrats and NPAs would have been able to cast their bal- lots in the Thaxton-Dent primary alongside Republicans, since no Democrat or NPA can- didate had filed for the general election. But a local Republican political operative had his daughter file a sham write-in candidacy to close the primary to Democrats and NPAs. Then the predominantly right-wing member- ship of the local Republican Party handed the nomination to Dent, despite a steady airing of legitimate concerns about her administration of her office. If Democrats and NPAs, to combat this undemocratic subterfuge, had re-registered as Republicans and voted in that primary, it is likely Thaxton would have prevailed in the primary and become the next supervisor of elections. Today, however, vot- e r s f a c e a n e v e n It is up to Democrats and NPAs to be proactive in ensuring their say in the next round of Republicans elected to open c o u n t y o f f i c e s . A n d t h a t c a n b e accomplished quite simply by changing o n e ' s v o t e r r e g i s t r a t i o n t o Republican by July 28. OPINION Sarasota News Leader July 18, 2014 Page 86