MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — Brewing controversy could possibly impact who oversees the upcoming elections in Manatee County if some voters have their way.
A petition with more than 2,000 signatures has called for the immediate removal of Manatee County Supervisor of Elections James Satcher.
This comes after four long-time poll workers — two full-time and two temporary — were fired a few days after the election. The workers, joined by some of Satcher's critics, alleged that he retaliated against the workers because he lost his own race to a former staff of the elections office.
Retaliation is not the only thing Satcher is accused of. Some of the fired longtime staff accuse Satcher of bullying, intimidation and incompetence.
The petition calls for Gov. Ron Desantis, who had appointed the former county commissioner to the position in April, to remove him and place the incoming supervisor, Scott Farrington, ahead to run the November Election. Farrington, also a Republican, beat out Satcher in the election with nearly 60% of the votes. The people who signed the petition insist if the governor fails to do so, it could jeopardize the process.
"I've never been written up. I've never had a warning. I've never signed anything that says I've done anything wrong. I've been a supervisor there like for 15, 16 years I mean it was just unusual," longtime poll worker Chris Palmer said.
"To be let go for no reason at all after being told that I was one of the top workers there and then just have somebody let you go. I was angry," another poll worker Harriet Darnell added.
Darnell's son Mark, who was a full-time staff member and worked in the vote-by-mail section, was fired on election day, a day before she said she and another temporary worker, Teresa Margraf, were told their "services were no longer required."
"People are being hurt by this and it's all in retaliation for him losing the election," Darnell added.
Satcher, who is not taking the allegations lightly, has vehemently defended himself.
"This is completely unfounded. They were let go, one of them, because on election day he refused to do his job. The other one for deliberately slow walking and not following clear directions," James Satcher, the outgoing Manatee supervisor of elections, said.
He also hit back at critics who called into question his ability to run the November elections.
"There's always going to be kind of that unitary party system, the good old boy, a little bit of the swamp and that's what we're dealing with," Satcher said.
"I am completely dedicated to professionalism, truth, transparency that's what we've done in this election and that's what we're going to do in November. Everybody's going to count. I might not agree with every vote, but I'm still going to count it and it still going to go to the state and be certified accurately," he added.
"This is a department that's being run so poorly, it's eroding voter confidence," Darnell said.
When asked about the issue recently Gov. Ron Desantis said he didn't have much information on it but added that the matter is up to the voters.
Below is a statement sent in by Manatee County Supervisor of Elections Chief of Staff David Ballard explaining what they said were the circumstances surrounding Mark Darnell's and Chris Palmer's employment termination.
Mark Darnell's employment was terminated effective August 21, 2024. This decision was made following his failure to fulfill a critical responsibility during the August Primary Election—a day that demands absolute dedication from every team member.
Despite the clear importance of the task at hand, Mark chose to abandon his post, leaving the team severely understaffed on one of the most pivotal days of the year. Instead of seeking a constructive resolution to a disagreement with his colleagues, he opted to remove himself from duty, displaying a concerning lack of professionalism and respect for his role.
This incident is not an isolated one, but rather part of a recurring pattern of unprofessional behavior, disregard for leadership, and an inability to manage personal emotions under pressure. Such conduct is incompatible with the high-stakes, high-pressure environment of election management, where reliability and teamwork are not just valued, but essential.
Given the critical nature of our work, there is no room in our organization for individuals who do not meet these fundamental standards.
Jonathan Clendenon
Director, I.T. & Cybersecurity
--------
Ms. Palmer has had a difficult time appropriately leading a group of full-time staff in Voter Services. The following incidents, along with extended breaks not reflected on time sheets and incomplete tasks, conclude with berating a subordinate which caused the employee to break down in tears. Ms. Palmer was terminated by Chief of Staff David Ballard at the direct instruction of Supervisor of Elections James Satcher.
In June of 2024, Ms. Palmer refused to coordinate with others regarding the hiring of temporary workers. Ms. Palmer was instructed to provide a pool of eligible temporary employees so that the Supervisor and HR could interview candidates ahead of the 2024 Primary Election. Even when reminded, Ms. Palmer did not provide a list of applicants. Once time became critical, Ms. Palmer's selected temporary employees were hired to begin in July, with one beginning early to accommodate for a staff promotion. The temporary workers were not through a temp service or an advertised listing but were social acquaintances of Ms. Palmer with prior temporary experience. One was also the mother of a then-current employee.
In July of 2024, Ms. Palmer was instructed to provide an additional pool of temporary employees to provide additional support through the August Primary Election and November General Election. This request was again acknowledged but unfulfilled.
Also in July 2024, Ms. Palmer requested overtime (OT) for the temporary employees in place of OT for full-time staff. During an election season, employees are able to accumulate a considerable amount of overtime. Ms. Palmer was informed that any overtime work should be offered to her full-time staff first. With a backlog of over 1700 applications abutting a statutory deadline and no OT allocated to the full-time staff, Ms. Palmer was overheard instructing a temporary employee to "slow down," accompanied by and downward push hand motion. It is unclear whether this was an effort to create additional overtime opportunities for temporary staff or an effort to harm the office-wide goal of a safe and secure election.
Due to the upcoming Primary Election, Supervisor Satcher held off on terminating Ms. Palmer's employment until after the election. However, during post-election voter information processing, Ms. Palmer intensely rebuked a subordinate when the employee sought help from the employee's supervisor, Ms. Palmer. This caused the employee to break down in tears.
On August 21, Supervisor Satcher ordered election staff to terminate Ms. Palmer's employment. Ms. Palmer was placed on administrative leave until the end of the pay period, which concluded her employment with the Supervisor of Elections office at this time.
This is my understanding and recollection of events leading up to Ms. Palmer's dismissal.
The former staff who spoke to 10 Tampa Bay said none of the affected former staff were formally queried about their work performance nor given any reason for being fired. They said the claims in the statements above which they are learning about through the press were unfounded and trumped up after the fact.
See petition here