Escambia Voter Turnout Was Low
August 27, 2008
Voter turnout was low Tuesday in Escambia County, with only about 25 percent of eligible voters casting their ballot.
The overall voter turnout across the county was at 25.3 percent of registered voters. Split down party lines, 30 percent of Republicans voted and about 24 percent of Democrats cast their ballots.
Specific precinct by precinct numbers were not available Tuesday night. When those numbers become available from the Escambia Supervisor of Elections Office, NorthEscambia.com will let you know how many of your friends and neighbors voted at your precinct.
Complete Escambia Election Results
August 27, 2008
Here are the complete, unofficial elections results from Tuesday’s primaries in Escambia County.
Shell Reelected Mayor Of Atmore
August 27, 2008
To the north of North Escambia, Atmore Mayor Howard Shell has been elected to his fifth term as mayor, defeating Gil Bonner 733 votes to 463 votes.
On the Atmore City Council, Webb Nall and Eldred Prichet were reelected. Chris Walker will be joining the council after winning an open seat.
For more Atmore election coverage, visit AtmoreNews.com
Best Two Out Of Three In Jay Council Race
August 27, 2008
It’s a game of the best two out of three in Jay for town council. There were three contenders, with the top two headed toward a council seat.
The top two vote getters, and new town council members, are Maxine M. Ivey with 62 votes and Louise Freels with 60 votes. Ed Johnson took third, and no council seat, with 46 votes.
Flomaton Election Results
August 27, 2008
It was a good Tuesday for incumbent city council members in Flomaton, with two headed back to city hall and one headed toward a runoff.
Incumbent John Samson will return to Flomaton City Council after defeating Doyle Lee 25 votes to 20 in District 1.
In the District 3 race, incumbent Jim Johnson returns to the council with 40 votes to 12 for Adam L. Johnson.
A runoff is in the works in District 4. First place went to C.E. Crapps with 26 votes. Incumbent Gary M. Sibernagel was second with 24 votes. Wesley Allen had 11 votes, and nine people voted for Tracy Owens. Since neither Crapps or Sibernagel had 50 percent of the vote for a clear winner, they will face each other in a runoff.
Mayor Dewey Bondurant, Jr. and council member Clementine Brooks won by default; no one ran against them.
BREAKING NEWS: McNesby, Gindl, Whitehead Out
August 26, 2008
Ron McNesby has lost his bid to be Escambia County Sheriff, Pete Gindl is off the school board, and Mike Whitehead is headed home.
In the Republican Primary Tuesday, McNesby was beat 56.7% percent to 43.3% by David Morgan. Morgan will face Larry Scapecchi in November. Scapecchi beat Samuel Lucas 65.4% to 34.6% for the Democratic nod.
Pete Gindl finished third in the school board race with 23.9% of the vote. Bill Slayton had 35.2% of the vote, and Tom Harrell had 30.8%.
Former District 5 Commissioner Wilson Robertson crushed incumbent Mike Whitehead Tuesday night. Robertson garnered 80.8% of the vote to Whiteheads 19.2%.
BREAKING NEWS: District 5 Commission: White Vs. Barnett
August 26, 2008
In Escambia County’s closest race Tuesday, Jim Barnett received 51.4% of the Democratic vote to John Hartman’s 48.6%. That equated to a 94 vote margin for Barnett.
Barnett will face Republican Kevin White in November. White received 57.5 of the vote, followed by Packy Mitchell with 26.3%, Chris Washler with 8.5% and Randall McCrackin with 7.7%
LIVE BLOG: Election Day
August 26, 2008
(This is an archive of a live election blog from August 26.)
This live election blog will be updated as NorthEscambia.com provides complete election coverage. We are now providing live election results under the “LIVE ELECTION RESULTS” story in the left column of the site. Click here for the results story.
(10:45 p.m). This is the last post on my live election blog. It’s been a long day. I’ve spent the last hour on the phone with the candidates, both winners and losers. Find out what they had to say, and who ate the most pie, Wednesday morning on NorthEscambia.com. Thanks for joining us tonight. We really appreciate you turned to us for your election coverage.
(9:50) There will be a new sheriff in town. And a new school board member in District 5. And Mike Whitehead is headed home. And…there’s a lot more. See our results story from the front page. I’m on the phone now with the winners and losers…check NorthEscambia.com in the morning for complete reactions from the candidate. If you enjoyed our coverage tonight, tell a friend. I know there are lot of new people here tonight from several blogs in Pensacola. For those of you that don’t know NorthEscambia.com, this is how we do things…fast and fair. Come back and see us again. And thanks for reading NorthEscambia.com!
(9:30) 84 of 90 precincts in now. Morgan is still ahead of McNesby for sheriff. Incumbent Gindl is in third place in District 5 School Board race. A few more precincts to go, and we’ll know if there will be some new faces in Escambia County government. It’s close one for the Democratic nod for District 5 Commission. Right now, just 14 votes separate front runner Jim Barnett front John Hartman. Stay tuned.
(9:20) Still awaiting the Escambia Supervisor of Elections Office to issue the latest county. We are still here, and still live. The next update should big one.
(9:10 p.m.) To North Escambia’s north, Atmore Mayor Howard Shell has won his fifth term as mayor of that city. Shell, by the way, grew up in Walnut Hill where his family operated a small grocery store along Highway 97. So he’s a hometown North Escambia boy.
(8:57 p.m.) Could Sheriff Ron McNesby be on the way out of office? With 66 of 90 precincts reporting, he has just 42.6% of the vote compared to David Morgans 57.4%. Of course, this could change quickly as precincts favorable to McNesby are counted. More live updates coming soon.
(8:30 p.m.) 53 of 90 precinct reporting. Kevin White leads the Republican District 5 commission race. John Hartman and Jim Barnett and neck and neck. That will be an interesting race. School board…incumbent Pete Gindl is in third place behind Bill Slayton and Tom Harrell. The night is young. Check back for more live results.
(8:22 p.m.) New election results posted, 36 of 90 precincts reporting in the county. I’ve improved from text to a graph for each race, making it easier to read. It load just a little slow on a dialup connection, but I believe it will be OK if you’ll just give it 5-10 seconds to load.
(Updated 8:00 p.m.) We are now providing live election results under the “LIVE ELECTION RESULTS” story in the left column. As the night goes along, we’ll start to break out some of the District 5 races into a separate story, and offer a little commentary. Keep check back tonight.
(Updated 7:00 p.m.) The polls close at 7:00 in North Escambia. Turnout has been reported to be very low across the area, ranging from 10 to 15 percent. There are just 792 registered voters at the Byrneville Community Center precinct, but several candidates spared no expense on making sure the precinct had plenty of signs out front. (Pictured above, submitted photo by Heather Leonard). We’ll begin our live election coverage here on NorthEscambia.com about 8:00 when results begin to come in.
(Updated 6:00 p.m.) I finally made it by my precinct in Walnut Hill to vote. The turnout here is low. Only about 13 percent of the 1,340 registered voters in the precinct have voted. Polls close in one hour.
(4.40 p.m.) Voter turnout is still light around North Escambia, with the polling places we visited in the Bratt and Oak Grove nearly empty this afternoon. The “voter rush” ordinarily starts about 4:30, but that’s not the reported case around the area. At the precinct located at Oak Grove Baptist Church (pictured bottom) dozens of political signs lined the highway. But catching our attention was this sign for “Your Best Choice…Jesus Christ”.
(3:30 p.m.) Traffic on the roads around North Escambia increases in the afternoon as moms, dads and others pick children up from school. Many of those people are stopping by to vote on their way home, increasing voter turnout. The flow of voters as North Escambia precincts should only increase as the hour gets later as people get off work and head back to their homes here in North Escambia. Oh…and the sun in still out. You can’t use the weather as an excuse not to vote.
(1:30 p.m.) A quick lunch…the number of voters increased during the lunch hour at many precincts in District 5. That’s a usual occurrence on election day as people vote during their lunch break or when they are back with their spouse around lunch. Voter turnout around the area is still being reported as low to moderate. Surprising, considering that we are voting on a commissioner, school board member and sheriff. Those offices usually bring people out to the polls. As for the accident mentioned below on Highway 29, the roadway is once again open.
(11:55 a.m.) If the area of Highway 29 and 9½ mile is on your way to vote in the southern part of District 5, or just in your plans during the noon hour, head another direction. There’s a major accident in that area that has traffic blocked.
(11:50 a.m.) Don’t forget that if you voted at the fire department in Cantonment or Molino in the past, you are headed to a different polling place today. The Molino precinct has moved from the Molino Volunteer Fire Department to the Barrineau Park Community Center. The folks that did vote at the Cantonment Volunteer Fire Department should not head to the Quintette Community Center on Quintette Lane. This has caused a little confusion this morning, but no major problems reported.
(10:55 a.m.) Slow, but a go. That’s a word from precincts around North Escambia. Many precincts are reporting a low voter turn out this morning. Most of the time, it’s no line, no real waiting. That is expected to change later this afternoon as people get off work, so you are encouraged to vote now if you can. The weather has been great too…no rain in the area this morning.
(9:30 a.m.) Looks like the weather might be a little better today. The National Weather Service just canceled the flash flood watch that was in effect for today. Fay’s leftovers are finally moving away from our area. The sun’s out, and things are looking, well, a little brighter. There’s still a chance of rain today, but most of it should be this afternoon. Get out and vote now if you want to avoid the rain.
(8:40 a.m.) A little excitement at the Walnut Hill precinct with the fire department, ambulance, sheriff’s department and LifeFlight….Authorities landed LifeFlight near the Walnut Hill Community Center (a.k.a. Ruritan Club) this morning as people voted inside. The helicopter was transporting someone from a nearby home that was suffering from a medical condition.
(7:05 a.m.) The polls are now open in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. They will be open until 7:00 tonight.
That Name You’ve Seen On The Campaign Signs Might Not Be On Your Ballot Today
August 26, 2008
You’ve undoubtedly seen the names on the campaign signs along the highways of North Escambia. But you may not find those names on your ballot when you vote in today’s Primary Election.
That is because the August 26 election is a party primary election… registered Republicans vote for Republicans, registered Democrats vote for Democrats, and those with no party affiliation vote only in nonpartisan races.
If you are a registered voter in North Escambia that has not declared a party affiliation, you will get a nonpartisan ballot. That ballot will contain only the races for District 5 school board and ECUA District 5. All of the registered Republicans and Democrats will vote in those two races, but they will have additional candidates and races on their ballots.
Everybody in North Escambia will see the nonpartisan District 5 school board candidates…Peter R. Gingl, Sr., Tom Harrell, Bill Slayton and Robert (Mr. T) Tegenkamp. Everyone’s ballot will also contain the two ECUA District 5 candidates with Barry B. Tweedie and Larry Walker.
Democrats will find two candidates for sheriff on their ballots…Samuel E. Lucas, Sr. and Larry Scapecchi. Three Democratic candidates for school superintendent – Claudia Brown-Curry, Myra L. Simmons and Cary Stidham – will be on the ballot. There will be two candidates, Jim Barnett and John F. Hartman, on the Democratic District 5 primary ballot.
Republicans will choose between Ron McNesby and David Morgan for sheriff; Randall E. McCrackin, Packy Mitchell, Chris Washler and Kevin White for county commissioner; and Greg Evers or Ryan L. Gilbert for District 1’s state representative.
District 5 Republicans will also vote on a public defender, choosing between James Owens and Kelly Merritt Richards. Two party offices will also be filled with one committeeman and one committeewoman. Brandon Lind, Jacob Pawelski and Hosea D. Pittman are in the running for committeeman. Elizabeth S. Campbell, Judith Gafford-Fehl, Susan Moore and Jami Rapisarda are running for committeewoman.
For a sample Democratic District 5 ballot, click here.
For a sample Republican District 5 ballot, click here.
For a sample nonpartisan District 5 ballot, click here.
Election Results Tonight On NorthEscambia.com
August 26, 2008
Join NorthEscambia.com tonight for the most complete election coverage in North Escambia. We will post results after the polls close tonight, plus we will have candidate reactions and a live election blog.
Complete election coverage will updated on NorthEscambia.com all day today, and our complete results coverage begins as the polls close tonight.