He runs elections, so why doesn't he vote?

FOR CITY Commission Chairman Anthony Clark, the city's top election official, voting is both professional and personal.

Professionally, he chairs the board that ensures Philadelphia's elections run smoothly and honestly. Personally, he thinks it's none of your business why he hasn't voted in the last five elections.

"You know, I made a choice and that's my private choice," he said yesterday, following the monthly commission meeting.

Public records show that Clark hasn't voted since 2011. The good-government group Committee of Seventy last week urged Clark not to seek re-election next year, citing his record as a bad message for the city's residents.

Asked about that, Clark said, "The message it sends to the voting public is that we do have privacy.

"The main focus of our operation is to make sure that we do our jobs - and our jobs are to make sure that the machines go out, that the operation runs smoothly and we run fair elections. People have their personal opinions and they're entitled to them."

With the general election just three weeks away, Commissioner Al Schmidt said that now is the time to get every registered voter on board.

"I would want every registered voter to vote in every election - without exceptions," said Schmidt.

Schmidt agreed that, right now, the commissioners' main priority is to make sure the city is ready for the Nov. 4 election.

"It's a huge logistical undertaking, with 1,686 polling places in the city and thousands of volunteers . . . ," he said.

The third commissioner, Stephanie Singer, declined to comment on Clark's voting record.

Seventy's interim CEO Ellen Kaplan said: "It's really unfortunate that the head of the city elections office has decided that voting is not something that he feels obligated to do, for whatever reason.

"When you're running city elections, you're private decision is open to public scrutiny."

Clark has not said whether he would seek re-election in 2015.