By Starr Munro Riverbend News
The Suwannee County Supervisor of Elections will be retiring at the end of this year after serving six terms, for a total of 24 years. Glenda Williams, a generational Suwannee County citizen, has been involved with local government since her senior year of high school, when she worked with the clerk of the courts office as a student. She was offered a full-time position upon graduation and worked with Judge Kennons in his office for 12 years before going to work at the clerk's office for another 11 years.
Even in those early days, Williams always assisted the previous supervisor of elections, Marjorie Carmichael, on election night. There were no machines at the voting precincts and election nights were guaranteed to be long ones for the staff involved. Votes were placed in sealed containers and brought to the courthouse after the polls closed at approximately 7 p.m. Each and every vote was run through a central scanner to get generated results. They would work well past midnight to ensure the job was done.
When it was first proposed to Williams that she should run for Suwannee County Supervisor of Elections after Carmichael retired, her first response was to ask the elected official who had mentioned it if they had lost their mind. "But the seed had been planted, and during the course of the next four years, God was preparing me to do just that," Williams said. She may have initially believed she couldn't do the job, but over the next four years she deliberated with both God and with the people in her life and decided to take "a leap of faith."
Williams was elected in September of 1996 and took office in January of 1997. She will be retiring in January after serving 24 years and six terms as Supervisor of Elections for Suwannee County. Williams said that this election year has been "the busiest, the most hectic and most challenging of any election year ever." There were a lot of doubts about the election this year. Between how much the country has changed over the past few years, the uncertainty that comes with living in the COVID era and the doubt in people's minds about elections in general, it was a unique last year in office. But Williams is extremely confident in the "honesty, accuracy and integrity of elections in Florida."
A wonderful retirement celebration took place on Thursday, Dec. 17, at the Suwannee County Supervisor of Elections office. Friends and colleagues gathered to congratulate Williams' years as a trusted constitutional officer. By the end of the party, her desk was covered in presents and tokens of appreciation. Mayor Frank Davis, former Supervisor of Elections, Marjorie Carmichael, and Judge William F. Williams are just some of the people who came out to wish her a happy retirement.
Williams said she is looking forward to retiring in January. She and her husband, Wesley Williams, are going to enjoy having more time to travel, fish and be with their seven grandchildren, all of whom reside in Suwannee County and will also keep them busy. When asked what she has learned during her time of serving the community Williams replied, "Trust God and let Him be in control. God's best is much better than my good could ever be." Williams would like to thank her staff for all their hard work. Jennifer Kinsey, Tina Nobles and Kay Ratliff have been the best team she could have hoped for. She also wants to ensure the citizens and voters of Suwannee County that they're being left in good hands, with Kinsey assuming the title of Suwannee County Supervisor of Elections this January.