Lori Edwards and Dennis Ross

Former Rep. Dennis Ross, the Republican candidate looking to take the congressional seat U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam is vacating, called on his Democratic opponent Lori Edwards Wednesday to resign as Polk County supervisor of elections.

“Almost two years ago Lori Edwards said she would take a leave of absence from her position to run for Congress,” said Ross. “By saying that, she clearly understood then that she would be unable to exercise her duties impartially and her remaining as supervisor would be a conflict of interest and present the appearance of impropriety. Just because she was told that a leave of absence would not be allowed, does not mean that the conflict of interest or potential for abuse does not remain.”

Ross, who routed conservative activist John Lindsey in the Republican primary, also took aim at the way Edwards acted through the Democratic primary, where she bested Doug Tudor, who ran against Putnam in 2008.

“Through her actions during the primary election, Lori Edwards has clearly shown that she is unable to exercise her duties impartially and ethically, and for the sake of all candidates and the integrity of our democratic system, I call on Lori Edwards to step down as supervisor of elections,” said Ross. “I also call on her to commit to removing her name, appearance, and voice from any voter education advertisements during the general election”

The Ross campaign blasted Edwards and claimed she is using the office to promote herself, noting that her name appears on office vehicles and comment cards at the polls and questions her handling of a petition drive led by Dewey Smith in 2005 to cut the salaries of government officials. The campaign also criticized Edwards for being prominently featured in taxpayer-funded television and radio ads. It claims that in 2008 Edwards said she would take a leave of absence if she ran for Congress.

“The potential for a serious conflict is not merely a hypothetical idea,” said Fred Piccolo, Ross' campaign manager. “Imagine if, in District 13, Vern Buchanan or Christine Jennings had been supervisor of elections in 2006. Taxpayers would have rightly questioned the ability of the supervisor's office to be unbiased, and the validity and security voters deserve in an election would have been compromised beyond repair.

“From Dewey Smith, to taxpayer-funded mobile billboards, to taxpayer-funded television and radio ads, to placing comment cards with her name on them inside every voting booth, Lori Edwards cannot be trusted with this election,” insisted Piccolo. “These instances, and others, show a clear pattern of using her office for political gain.”

Perhaps inspired by the run the Tampa Bay Rays are giving the New York Yankees in the AL East, Piccolo used a baseball analogy to describe the situation in this Tampa Bay area congressional race. 

“Lori Edwards originally asked the taxpayers to allow her to play in the baseball game, be the home plate umpire, hire the other umpires, allow one of the umpires she hired to replace her for a few innings while she still remained in the game, and then be allowed to return behind the plate if her absence doesn't go well,” he said. “Now she just wants to remain the umpire, hire the other umpires, remain in the game, and then be one of the judges in the replay booth if things are close.”

The Edwards campaign brushed off the attacks from the Ross camp and said its accusations were mere politics.

“We’re not surprised that Dennis Ross is slinging mud,” said Tony Coppola, a spokesman for Edwards. “It’s obvious that he is going to run a negative campaign.”

Coppola added that Edwards had no intention of stepping down from her position.