Hillsborough Property Appraiser Republican primary

Winner: Rob Turner

The Republican primary pits a Plant City political outsider against a 12-year incumbent. Few jobs have as much reach into the daily economic life of the county as property appraiser. The credibility of the valuations of more than 500,000 parcels of land, updated every year, depends on the person who occupies this office. The winner of this race will face Ken Ayers, a Democrat and former Tampa fire chief who turns 78 in September.

	Robert Townsend, 49	Rob Turner, 58
Experience	Townsend has been a generation process specialist for an Invenergy Services LLC power plant in Hardee that was once owned by TECO. He’s also a farmer on land he owns near Plant City, where he says he grows beans and cantaloupe. He worked as a welder and mechanical technician for Rockwell International Corp. between 1989 and 1991. From 1984 to 1988, he was a sign fabricator. Between 1977 and 1984, he worked for AMAX Phosphate Co. in Plant City. He attended the University of Florida in 1977 before dropping out. He graduated from Plant City High School in 1976.	Turner was a senior vice president at NationsBank (now Bank of America) for six years before being elected Hillsborough County’s property appraiser in 1996. From 1973 to 1990, he held a variety of banking positions involving consumer and commercial lending. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Central Florida and a degree from the University of Virginia’s School of Bank Management. In 2006, he served on Gov. Jeb Bush’s Property Tax Reform Committee. He was re-elected in 2000 and 2004.
The pitch	He says his work experience has given him the equivalent of a mechanical engineering degree. Through that experience, he says he has the expertise to tell county commissioners “the best deals in regards to construction and electricity.” In 2006, he was denied an agricultural exemption that would have let him pay lower taxes. He said he farmed the property and deserved the break, a claim not found credible by property appraiser Turner. This denial helped persuade him to challenge Turner. “I despise the man,” he said of Turner.	Years in the private sector gave him a solid understanding of functions and principles of appraising. Once elected, that experience helped him restore order and confidence in an office that had been investigated by the FBI and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. He says it took four to five years to clean up the office and make it accountable and efficient. As early as 1999, he warned of inflated property values and sought tax cuts. While on Bush’s committee, he recommended more limits on taxing powers. Because of his 12 years in office, he says he is best prepared to cut costs and improve service during what looks to be tight times ahead.
What they would do in office	He says he would make it more responsive to the average taxpayer by “respecting property rights.” He would use the office to sue the state’s Department of Revenue to get relief for property owners.	He promises more of the same. He said he would continue issuing property valuations that are representative of the market and pursuing an aggressive public education campaign, which has already led to 130 events this year for him. He wants to champion more tax reforms and better define agricultural exemptions to avoid confusion with owners such as Townsend.
Assets	Home, land and home under construction, farm equipment.	Money market, rental property, retirement accounts, savings bonds.
Liabilities	$388,000 Sunshine State federal savings loan; $18,000 Agco finance loan.	Mortgages.
Net worth	$1,361,000	$1,770,020
Source of income	Salary from Invenergy, income from farming.	Property appraiser salary, rental income, stocks.
Personal	Married to Cathy Townsend, two grown sons, a grown daughter, and a 13-year-old daughter.	Married to Donna Turner, four grown children, two sons and two daughters.
E-mail	Yes	Yes
Website	Yes (Must be a member to see information)

About the job: The property appraiser appraises the taxable value of real estate and tangible personal property (equipment, machinery and fixtures) of businesses. The appraiser also administers homestead exemptions, agricultural classifications, and determines the eligibility of religious, charitable, municipal and other tax exemptions. The office prepares the tax roll but does not collect taxes or fix the tax rate. The job pays $154,000 a year.