Pictured Above: Julie Marcus graduated USFSP in 2000 with a bachelor’s degree in political science.
Courtesy of Julie Marcus
By Molly Ryan
It’s voting season and the Supervisor of Elections for Pinellas County, Julie Marcus, is tackling her first year on the job head-on.
In May, Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed the USF St. Petersburg alumna for the position after the retirement of longtime supervisor Deborah Clark.
However, Marcus’ passion for politics and service started far before her time as a political science major.
“When I was young, I loved the politics and the entire concept of campaigning,” Marcus said.“I loved learning. What I loved about political science was that there were so many aspects and angles to the one major.”
Marcus accredits Professor emeritus of political science, Darryl Paulson, with helping foster her love for the electoral process.
“(Marcus) was one of the hardest working students I ever had in my 36 years of teaching,” Paulson said.
“One of the courses she took with me was a political campaigning course where students could work for a candidate of their choice,” Paulson said. “I think it was this course that really spurred (Marcus’) interest in public service.”
“(Paulson) basically put me through school,” Marcus joked. “This little pod of (political science majors) went through school together; we were a very close-knit group.”
During Marcus’ time at USF St. Petersburg, the recently departed Dr. Bill Heller served as the university’s dean.
“I remember Dean Heller lobbying the legislature. I actually went up with him with a group of students and we went up to the legislature to lobby because we wanted to make the University of South Florida at St. Petersburg its own accredited school. So, when I graduated in 2000, it was still USF, but I was a part of seeing it transition,” Marcus said.
In 1999, Marcus was able to work for the supervisor of elections as a student.
“My job was going into high schools and giving presentations to get students engaged in voting,” Marcus said. “The bottom line was, ‘if you’re not participating and you’re not contributing, then you’re less likely to be heard.’”
Marcus graduated in 2000 as the president of National Political Honor Society and began work for the Florida House of Representatives.
“I worked for the Florida House from 2000 to 2002. But, over some time I transitioned to less politics, and more focus on the electoral process and began working with the supervisor of elections,” Marcus said.
Marcus has worked for the Pinellas County supervisor of elections for over 17 years.
In 2012, she was named chief deputy of elections before being appointed the position of supervisor this year.
In a time where the President is challenging the legitimacy of the electoral process, Marcus remains focused on making the election run as smoothly as possible.
“There’s many different types of challenges, but with those challenges, come opportunities,” said Marcus. “We are mission-focused, and we will do everything in our power to make sure that this election goes smoothly and that our voters have a positive voting experience,” Marcus said.
Although the fate of the presidency will be sealed on Nov. 3, Marcus implores voters to take advantage of local elections.
“There’s elections all of the time and it’s very important for voters to stay engaged, not just in presidential elections, but all elections,” Marcus said. “We live in a representative democracy. We are voting for people to represent us and our values.”
