Bill Cowles set the gold standard
Bill Cowles’ tenure as Orange County election supervisor started with a flurry of uncertainty: His lead in the 1996 election to replace his boss, Betty Carter, was so tight that it triggered a recount. And it ended with widespread expressions of bewildered sorrow. Orange County residents knew he planned to retire in 2024, but they didn’t expect him to announce in mid-December that the January election to fill a vacant House seat would be his last.
But Cowles has more than earned his retirement, along with the trust of voters — many of whom remembered his name on their first voter ID as they watched their newly adult children inspect their own cards. Those memories covered calm times and times of tumult. Orange County voters witnessed Cowles operating his office with transparency, professionalism and reliability while other county elections officials weathered accusations of bias or incompetence. They have watched Cowles search for ways to make voting more accessible without raising doubts about the security and trustworthiness of local elections.
Perhaps most importantly, Orange County voters have watched him carefully avoid any appearance of favoritism or advocacy, with one critical exception: He never hesitated to speak up when he believed voters’ rights were being undermined. Republican or Democrat, young or old, voters knew one thing to be true. Cowles had their back.
“Partisanship never crept in,” said Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, who was in the state Senate when Cowles was first elected. “We got (Election Night) results early, and we knew they were accurate.”
Calm and competent
Cowles has so much to be proud of. Having worked for Carter for seven years prior to her retirement, he stepped into her shoes with apparent ease and considerable energy. And he was quick to embrace changes that would make registering and voting easier. The county’s elections website, which went live less than four months after he first took office, was feature-packed when compared to the average government site circa 1997. Later that year, he conducted what was at the time Florida’s biggest (and Orange County’s first) all-mail election. He was also one of the first supervisors to insist on Spanish-language ballots and other election-related materials.
Cowles’ steadfast leadership steered the elections office safely through episodes that would have been unimaginable — until they were actually happening.
When other counties were enduring the tumult of the 2000 recount, Orange County stayed calm and quiet.
When other counties were rocked by accusations of fake ballots or voting equipment vulnerabilities, Cowles and his staff were able to point toward modernized voting equipment that allowed voters to mark their ballots, feed them into tabulation machines and get electronic confirmation that their votes had been tallied.
When elections were sidelined by a mysterious illness that would come to be known as COVID-19, Cowles worked with other supervisors to keep voters safe without putting unnecessary restrictions on ballot access.
And in the festering aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots, Cowles stood with other local supervisors to make it clear that elections in Central Florida would be conducted with integrity and accuracy — and that threats of aggression toward poll workers or other voters would not be tolerated. At the same time, he welcomed partisan observers (often with full-page ads in this newspaper) to come to the elections office and watch events unfold for themselves.
There’s one more thing to recognize — and it’s not one that has drawn much public attention, though it deserves it. A deep dive of Cowles’ website reveals a wealth of data about local elections, including information about voter behavior that far exceeds the statistics other counties provide (and some expect to be paid for.) This empowers candidates who might not have the money or party backing to buy the information they need to run successful campaigns. And it does so on a purely egalitarian basis. The information is there for anyone who wishes to access it.
Tough act to follow
In the coming weeks, Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to name an interim replacement for Cowles who will hold office through the March presidential primary, the regular primary in August and November’s climactic general election with a presidency at stake. Like many, we are apprehensive about who the governor might choose; the smartest option would be to name someone from the upper ranks of Cowles’ competent, professional staff.
But that’s another discussion for another day: Today, we focus on celebrating the accomplishments of a man who has served Orange County with integrity, innovation and heart. He will be missed, and his footprints should inspire those who come after him to continue on the same path.
The Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Opinion Editor Krys Fluker, Editorin-Chief Julie Anderson and Viewpoints Editor Jay Reddick. Contact us at insight@orlandosentinel.com