Escambia (Ala.) Sheriff: Incumbent Grover Smith Defeats Heath Jackson
November 3, 2010
Two-term Democratic Sheriff Grover Smith defeated political newcomer Republican Heath Jackson, an Escambia County (Fla.) Sheriff’s narcotics investigator in the race for Escambia County (Ala.) Sheriff.
“I an deeply humbled and appreciate the fact that people overlooked party lines in voting for me,” Smith (pictured left) said Tuesday night in Brewton. “I will continue to be a sheriff that every man, woman and child in this county can count on.”
Jackson, who handily defeated Lloyd Albritton in June’s primary election, conceded the race just before 9:30 Tuesday night. Smith received 6,531 votes, while Jackson received 4,203 according to complete, but unofficial, results.
“We are very grateful for the citizens that put their trust in us,” Jackson (pictured left) said late Tuesday. Facing a two-term sheriff with more than a dozen years experience as a police chief was a “heck of a mountain to climb”, but he said he felt like it was a good, positive race.
The defeat will not be end of Jackson’s political aspirations — he plans to seek Escambia’s top cop job again.
“I hope in four years that 4,000 that voted for us and a few thousand more will support us,” Jackson said.
During his next four years as sheriff, Smith said he has a few major goals. One is to continue to be accessible to the citizens and to implement a required drug rehabilitation and mandatory work program for drug offenders in his jail.
And, in the short term, Smith said, “I going to be pulling up all of my signs. I’m sick of them”.
Jay Native Seriously Injured By Suicide Bomber in Afghanistan
November 3, 2010
Miles Baker of Jay was severely injured by a suicide bomber Monday in Afghanistan. He has shrapnel in his left arm and stomach and is being kept sedated, according to his wife Brittany, who learned of his injuries Tuesday morning.
“Thank you everyone for the prayers,” she said. “You have no idea what it means to me. Please continue to pray. They are not sending him home right now.”
Miles Baker joined the Army right after graduating from Jay High School. He and wife Brittany have one child, Zaiden, age two months.
Pictured: Brittany and Miles Baker. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Blood Drive For Wounded Deputy To Be Held In Walnut Hill
November 3, 2010
A blood drive will be held Saturday in Walnut Hill in honor of wounded Deputy Jeremy Cassady, who was shot Friday during a home invasion hostage situation in Pensacola.
The Northwest Florida Blood Services blood drive will take place from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. during the annual Walnut Hill Volunteer Fire Department Fish Fry at the Walnut Hill Fire Station on Highway 97.
Cassady, who remains in critical condition at Sacred Heart Hospital, has used well over 200 units of blood since Friday.
Catfish and chicken plates will be sold during the event. Each $7 plate will include catfish fillets or grilled chicken, hush puppies, baked beans, cole slaw, homemade bread and dessert. There will also be door prizes, with the drawing at 1 p.m. Baked goods will also be for sale.
Complete Escambia Florida Results; Commisison And ECUA Incumbents Are Re-elected
November 3, 2010
Incumbents Gene Valentino and Grover Robinson re-elected to the Escambia County Commission. Incumbents Lois Benson and Dale Perkins to return to the ECUA Board.
Local Escambia County (Fla.) results:
Initial Unofficial Results Include Partial Absentee and All Early Votes
90 of 90 Election Day Precincts Reporting
COUNTY COMMISSIONER DISTRICT 2
Gene M. Valentino 9,224 58.69 %
Myra L. Simmons 3,887 24.73 %
Paul Redman 2,606 16.58 %
COUNTY COMMISSIONER DISTRICT 4
Grover C. Robinson 18,019 80.64 %
Danny Lewis 4,325 19.36 %
ECUA DISTRICT 2
Lois Benson 11,506 76.47 %
Dave Carlson 3,541 23.53 %
ECUA DISTRICT 4
Dale Perkins 16,561 76.92 %
Scott Schroeder 4,970 23.08 %
ESCAMBIA SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION
Dan Cain 46,581 64.30 %
Dillon Mason Powell 25,863 35.70 %
Hayward Elected Pensacola Mayor; Complete City Council Results
November 3, 2010
Ashton Hayward has been elected as Pensacola’s first strong Mayor.
Mike Wiggins has conceded the race as unofficial results show him behind by just a few hundred votes in a very close race.
Unofficial results:
MAYOR PENSACOLA
Ashton Hayward 10,508 51.94 %
Mike Wiggins 9,723 48.06 %
CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 1
P.C. Wu 2,358 75.89 %
Steve Fulford 749 24.11 %
CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 2
Sherri Myers 1,110 51.58 %
Courtney B. Peterson 1,042 48.42 %
CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 6
Brian Spencer 1,248 53.63 %
Jewel Cannada-Wynn 1,079 46.37 %
Evers Takes Senate District 2, Defeats Tea Party Candidate
November 3, 2010
Republican Greg Evers is celebrating victory tonight in the race for Senate District 23.
Evers, R-Baker, had 80 percent of the vote to 20 percent for Tea Party candidate Christopher Crawford in early returns.
“I am humbled and honored that the voters of Senate District 2 have chosen me to represent them in the Florida Senate,” said Evers, who celebrated his victory with a small group of family and friends. “I am a pro-life, conservative farmer and small businessman who has been endorsed by the NRA; and I ran for Senate District 2 because, like many voters in Northwest Florida, I’m concerned with the direction our country and state are headed.”
“Now that I have been elected, I will take the issues I campaigned on straight to the state’s Capitol and ensure Northwest Florida has a strong voice in the Florida Senate,” said Evers. “I am committed to fulfilling the promises I made while on the campaign trail – from fighting to take back our state from out-of-control Washington insiders, to focusing on building strong families, to getting our neighbors back to work and our economy back on track, to implementing Arizona-style immigration reform and fighting to defeat Obamacare.”
“I could not have achieved this victory tonight without the support of voters across Northwest Florida, and I look forward to serving them proudly in the Florida Legislature,” concluded Evers.
Senate District 2 consists of Holmes and Washington, and parts of Escambia, Santa Rosa, Bay, Okaloosa, and Walton Counties. The seat was previously held by Senator Durrell Peaden, Jr., MD, who was term-limited out.
Evers had served Florida House District 1 since 2001.
Charlie Crist Sees Career Halted On GOP’s Night
November 3, 2010
Gov. Charlie Crist picked the wrong election year to leave the Republican Party.
Crist walked into a ballroom Tuesday night at the Vinoy Renaissance, a swanky hotel in his hometown of St. Petersburg, and conceded defeat in the U.S. Senate race to Republican Marco Rubio, doing what seemed unthinkable just a couple of years ago -putting a stop, at least for now, to what seemed to be a meteoric political rise.
Of course, few thought Crist wouldn’t be a Republican either.
Crist thanked his wife Carole, his parents and his sisters. And he thanked his supporters.
“I also want you to know from the bottom of my heart it has been the greatest honor of my public life to serve as your governor,” he told backers.
It was far different from the scene four years ago, when Crist, buoyed by cheering crowds and adoring supporters throughout the state, won the governor’s office over Democrat Jim Davis. The term political rock star was thrown around and Crist was talked of as a future presidential contender. He was also vetted as a possible running mate for Republican presidential candidate John McCain.
Tuesday night, he was the odd man out, watching from outside the Republican Party he once headed as it celebrated its biggest election night in more than a decade. And he watched Rubio win a Senate seat that early on seemed Crist’s to take.
“More than anything, Crist proves the axiom that timing and opportunity are the most important variables,” said Democratic strategist Steve Schale, who ran President Barack Obama’s Florida operation in 2008. “Virtually any other cycle, Crist would be punching his ticket to the Senate. He just ran into a buzz saw in 2010.”
Crist started as the easy favorite. When he jumped in, Republican leaders tried to clear the field for him.
But Rubio persisted, catching the attention of the Tea Party movement and county Republican parties. He went to all the small grassroots events and slowly his numbers began to rise. By the spring, Crist saw his campaign struggling to reach Republican voters. His popularity seemed to lie more with Democrats and moderates.
When it looked like he could lose the GOP primary to Rubio, he left the Republican Party to run as an independent and his cross party popularity showed as his poll numbers catapulted him past Rubio and Democratic candidate Kendrick Meek. Early in the summer, it looked like Crist would triumph over his former party. Then it fell apart.
As Crist moved away from his Republican roots, and enthusiasm grew among conservatives, Rubio rode a growing national star. And Crist’s numbers tumbled.
Crist – always thought of as having an incredibly keen sense of political timing – either missed what was developing, or suddenly became less interested in winning after a lifetime of having a knack for it. In what clearly was stacking up as a Republican year, Crist was courting Democrats and moderates. His strategy – and at least for now his career – came to a halt Tuesday night.
“This was the wrong year,” for a “raging moderate” like Crist said former Sen. Dave Aronberg, a Democrat who also lost this year in the primary for attorney general.
“I thought he had the highest political skill of anyone I ever met,” Aronberg said. “His major miscalculation was he underestimated the rise of the right wing of the Republican Party and the tea party.”
The question now is whether Crist’s quixotic independent Senate run was his swan song or whether he’ll reinvent himself. He could turn to the private sector and run a foundation like his predecessor Gov. Jeb Bush. He’d likely be a welcome visiting professor at university political science departments.
Or, he could sit back and wait for an opportune moment to jump back in the political arena. In 1998, former Gov. Bob Graham trounced Crist in the U.S. Senate race. Afterward, Bush appointed him to be a deputy secretary at the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Crist bided his time and in 2000 won a special election for Education Commissioner’s race, then an elected position. He followed it up with a win in the 2004 attorney general’s race and then the governor’s race in 2006. Some have suggested he may be interested in the Tampa Bay area U.S. House seat now held by U.S. Rep. Bill Young.
“For Crist, with his universal name ID, the question isn’t if he can make a comeback, but when his ambition and political opportunity line up,” Schale said.
Crist was brief in his public remarks Tuesday night and left no hint as to what he might do in the future. He exited the stage, shaking hands and hugging friends. Crist, who has rarely been unwilling to go before the press, didn’t take any questions.
By Kathleen Haughney
The News Service Florida
Broxson Easily Wins House District 1 Race
November 3, 2010
In the District 1 Florida House race to succeed Greg Evers, Republican Doug Broxson easily defeated Mathias Venditto with more than 85 percent of the vote.
The district covers portions of Escambia, Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties, including the northern two-thirds of Escambia and Santa Rosa.
Venditto, 30, ran with no party affiliation.
Escambia, Alabama Election Results: Wins For Smith, White, Quarker, Jackson, Digmon
November 3, 2010
Here are complete but unofficial results from Escambia County, Alabama:
SHERIFF
Grover Smith 6531
Heath Jackson 4203
Read more about the sheriff’s race…click here.
COUNTY COMMISSION DISTRICT 3
Larry White 1533
Buster Crapps 824
COUNTY COMMISSION DISTRICT 5
David Allen Quarker Sr. 1186
Don “Viking” Ellestad 304
SCHOOL BOARD, DISTRICT 4
Cindy Jackson 1025
Stephanie Agerton 965
SCHOOL BOARD, DISTRICT 6
Sherry Digmon 850
Cereal Daniel 807
Flomaton Mayor Declines Plan To Rename Hwy 113 In His Honor
November 3, 2010
Flomaton’s mayor has declined an Alabama plan to name a portion of Highway 113 in his honor.
A ceremony was planned for next Tuesday to name Highway 113 from Flomaton to I-65 the “Dewey J. Bondurant, Jr. Highway”. The Alabama Legislature approved the name in Bondurant’s honor earlier this year with the passage of a bill sponsored by Sen. Marc M. Keahey.
But the ceremony has been canceled, according to Rebecca White, public information specialist for the Alabama Department of Transportation.
“The mayor felt like there were a lot of people in that area that were responsible for getting the highway widened,” said White. “The mayor felt like it was not right to name it just after him.”
The four-laning of the 13.5 mile stretch of Highway 113 was a joint project between several agencies in Alabama as well as Escambia County, Florida, which provided $4 million toward the $22.7 million project. Representatives from Alabama and Florida, including Bondurant, worked more than four decades on the project.
“I’ve never met anyone any better than Dewey,” Alabama Gov. Bob Riley said at the November 2008 ribbon cutting for the widened highway. “He came in and not only put together a plan that would work, then…he went out and secured the funds that made this a reality. This would not have happened without the mayor. The mayor’s leadership on this was just exemplary.”
Florida and Alabama agreed back in 1967 to four-lane roads on both side of the state line for an evacuation route. Florida finished their part along Highway 29 by 1990, but Alabama did nothing more after acquiring right-of-way back in the 1970’s.
“Mayor Dewey J. Bondurant, Jr., of Flomaton worked tirelessly to see this project come to fruition; the project would not have been possible without his hard work and dedication; he is to be commended for seeing this effort through to conclusion,” stated the bill passed by the Alabama Legislature.
Pictured top: Alabama Gov. Bob Riley (left) and Flomaton Mayor Dewey Bondurant (second from left) cut the ribbon on the newly widened Highway 113 in November, 2008 as dignitaries from Alabama and Florida look on. Pictured inset: Gov. Riley thanks Bondurant for his work on the Highway 113 project. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.