State Sen. Victor Crist, a Tampa Republican, and former state Rep. Bob Henriquez, a Tampa Democrat, are both seeking the appointment as Hillsborough County elections supervisor.

Henriquez is one of five people who have filed applications so far seeking the appointment to be made by Gov. Charlie Crist, and Victor Crist—no relation to the governor—says he will file an application soon.

Also applying, as expected, is Craig Latimer, who has been serving as chief of staff in the elections office and was chosen by the late Supervisor Phyllis Busansky as her second-in-command.

The appointee will fill the unexpired term of Busansky, who died suddenly last week, and will serve at least until the 2010 election.

More candidates are expected, and because the appointment is purely a decision by Gov. Crist, it’s impossible to pick a frontrunner.

But many local Republicans, who want the governor to pick a Republican who’s likely to run for re-election in 2010, believe Victor Crist will be the leading candidate. Others, who say the governor may choose a non-political, caretaker candidate to run the office until the election, say Latimer could be the best choice.

Henriquez, who served eight years as a state House member representing West Tampa, is well known as football coach at Tampa Catholic High School and currently is a district administrator for the Department of Children and Families.

Victor Crist, an advertising agency executive, is a former state House member and head of the University Area Community Development Corporation, a non-profit he founded.

He faces a term limit in his Senate seat in 2010, and had planned to run that year a Hillsborough County Commission seat. He said in an interview today that if appointed to the elections post, he would expect to run for re-election.

“I’ve been looking forward to coming home and serving at the local level,” Crist said. “If the governor honors me with the opportunity I’ll make sure the job is done right and restore the integrity that Phyllis sought to bring to the office.”

Other applicants so far are restaurateur David Agliano; Southwest Florida College program director Michael K. van Hoek; and engineer Joseph Robinson.

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