Jackson Wins Escambia (AL) Sheriff, Stewart Beats White For Commission (With Other Local Results)
November 7, 2018
Republican Heath Jackson was elected the next sheriff in Escambia County, AL, Tuesday over challenger and chief deputy Mike Lambert. Incumbent Grover Smith is retiring.
“We are thankful to the citizens of Escambia County for supporting us and putting their trust in us,” Jackson said late Tuesday night. “We appreciate that the people saw that it was time for a new step in law enforcement in Escambia County. Jackson will make history as the first ever Republican sheriff in Escambia County (AL) when takes office in January.
Incumbent Escambia County (AL) Commissioner Larry White (DEM) was defeated by Scottie Stewart.
Here are local results from Escambia County, AL:
ESCAMBIA COUNTY SHERIFF
Heath Jackson (REP) 53.01%
Mike Lambert (DEM) 46.96%
ESCAMBIA COUNTY COMMISSION, DISTRICT 1
David M. Stokes (DEM) 98.10%
Write-In 1.90%
ESCAMBIA COUNTY COMMISSION, DISTRICT 3
Scottie Stewart (REP) 55.64%
Larry W. White (DEM) 44.25%
ESCAMBIA COUNTY COMMISSION, DISTRICT 5
Karean L. Reynolds (DEM) 98.06%
Write-In 1.94%
ESCAMBIA COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION DISTRICT 2
Danny Benjamin (DEM) 98.58%
Write-In 1.42%
ESCAMBIA COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION DISTRICT 3
Mike Edwards (REP) 99.51%
Write-In 0.49%
ESCAMBIA COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION DISTRICT 7
Coleman W. Wallace, Sr. (REP) 73.58%
Amanda “Mandie” Thompson (IND) 26.19%
Write-In 0.23%
ESCAMBIA COUNTY JUDGE OF PROBATE
Robert Douglas Agerton (DEM)
Write-In
Desantis Defeats Gillum For Florida Governor To Keep GOP In Control
November 7, 2018
In another razor-thin election, Florida voters on Tuesday continued a two-decade streak of Republican dominance by electing former U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis as governor.
With more than 8 million votes counted, the state Division of Elections showed DeSantis leading Democrat Andrew Gillum by a margin of 49.88 percent to 48.9 percent, or about 79,000 votes.
Gillum conceded at 11 p.m. as he spoke to supporters gathered at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee.
“We could not be prouder of the way that we ran this race. We could not be more thankful for the support that was shown by each and every one of you all the way along this path. We recognize that you know we didn’t win it tonight. We didn’t win this transaction,” Gillum said, adding that “what we believe in still holds true today.”
Gilllum said he called DeSantis and congratulated him. “But I want you to know that, in spite of our congratulating him on his victory this evening, nothing that we believe in is compromised,” Gillum said.
The nationally watched race was widely viewed as a referendum on President Donald Trump, whose endorsement of DeSantis helped boost the former congressman to a primary victory in August.
“The true story of this race is intense gratitude to President Trump. I think without his two visits we would not have done enough to inspire Republican voters to show up. And nobody brings it like the big guy. He came down here and fired up our voters, and it looks like we’re poised for victory,” U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Fort Walton Beach Republican, told The News Service of Florida on Tuesday night.
While DeSantis’ lead continued to hold as late results rolled in from across the state Tuesday evening, Gillum supporters at an election-watch party on the campus of Florida A&M University, where the Tallahassee mayor launched his political career as student body president, refused to concede to the Republican.
“Let’s keep hope alive. We can still pull this off,” radio personality Tom Joyner told a crowd of students and supporters, many of whom were clad in blue T-shirts emblazoned with Gillum’s name.
Joyner said he moved to Florida to vote in the race.
“I’ll be damned if I’m going to let anybody get in my way. Let’s bring this home,” he said, echoing Gillum’s campaign refrain.
DeSantis’ win was a crushing blow for Democrats, who had pinned their hopes on Gillum making history as the state’s first black chief-of-state and recapturing the governor’s mansion for the first time in nearly a quarter of a century.
Many Democrats believed that the 39-year-old Gillum, the father of three young children, injected a degree of enthusiasm lacking for their party’s candidates over the past several elections.
But the Tallahassee mayor was forced to defend himself against accusations of wrongdoing related to an FBI investigation of city government, which became a cornerstone of DeSantis’ campaign.
DeSantis and his supporters accused Gillum of being dishonest and corrupt for accepting a ticket from an undercover FBI agent to the popular Broadway show “Hamilton,” and traveling to Costa Rica and other places with lobbyist Adam Corey. Gillum said he paid cash for his share of a rental house shared with Corey and others in the 2016 Costa Rica vacation.
The trips and the ticket are part of an ethics investigation into Gillum, and Corey is at the heart of a federal probe into Tallahassee city government. Gillum has repeatedly denied he is the subject of the FBI inquiry and has steadfastly maintained he hasn’t done anything wrong.
But Trump called Gillum a “stone-cold thief,” and DeSantis repeatedly said on the campaign trail that he’s “the only candidate that isn’t the subject of an FBI investigation.”
From the beginning of his campaign, DeSantis, a lawyer and former congressman, tied his electoral chances to Trump, using frequent appearances on the Fox News network to defend the president and his policies.
It was Trump’s support, including a July endorsement rally in Tampa, that helped propel DeSantis past a better-funded and more widely known opponent, Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, in the Aug. 28 Republican primary. He beat Putnam by 20 percentage points.
Trump again played a major role in the general election, appearing at rallies with DeSantis in Lee County and Pensacola in the final week of the campaign. The president also used his Twitter account to attack Gillum, calling him “a thief” who is “mayor of poorly run Tallahassee.”
DeSantis, meanwhile, was plagued by accusations of racism following remarks he made the day after his primary victory in August. Attacking Gillum during an appearance on Fox News, DeSantis, referring to successes in Florida achieved by Scott, said “the last thing we need to do is to monkey this up by trying to embrace a socialist agenda with huge tax increases, and bankrupting the state.”
DeSantis’ comments drew widespread criticism and became a theme in the general-election contest.
But the Republican defended himself and his supporters against the racist label, while slamming his Democratic opponent for backing a major tax-hike proposal and wanting to expand government programs, including health care.
The stark differences between the two candidates and the negative nature of the race were crystallized in two vitriolic debates. DeSantis hammered Gillum’s ethics and honesty, questioning whether he has been telling the truth about his role in the ongoing FBI investigation.
In one of the most memorable lines in the debates, Gillum stopped short of calling DeSantis a racist but said “racists believe he is a racist.”
by Lloyd Dunkelberger, The News Service of Florida
Pictured: Ron Desantis gives his victory speech Tuesday night. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Moody To Succeed Bondi As Florida Attorney General
November 7, 2018
Former Hillsborough County Circuit Judge Ashley Moody will replace her friend, term-limited Attorney General Pam Bondi, as the state’s next top lawyer.
Moody on Tuesday defeated state Rep. Sean Shaw, a Tampa Democrat whose father was the first black chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court, in the contest for attorney general.
She called the outcome “an honor” while standing Tuesday night with her family and Bondi before supporters at the Renaissance Tampa International Plaza Hotel in Tampa.
“The preparation for this role really began a long time ago, beginning with my father, a judge who taught me that the strength and resilience of our society hinges on a fair judicial system,” the Republican said. “Not only a fair judicial system, but one that is perceived as fair. And I will work towards that end every day as the attorney general.”
Moody, 43, outspent Shaw $8.8 million to $4.1 million through their campaign accounts and affiliated political committees.
Despite the race garnering the most attention among the three Cabinet-level positions, voters got little chance to hear Moody and Shaw debate their differences. They held a single debate, which was only available to cable viewers in Tampa and Orlando.
Moody campaigned on a platform to build on Bondi’s work, which means expanding the state’s battle against the opioid epidemic and continuing a fight against the federal Affordable Care Act.
It remains to be seen how the Moody-led office will defend a state gun law enacted after the Feb. 14 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Broward County.
Moody agrees with parts of the new law but has said she wouldn’t have backed it because of a provision that raised the minimum age to buy rifles and other long guns from 18 to 21. The National Rifle Association has filed a federal lawsuit challenging that provision, with Bondi’s office defending the law.
Shaw fully supported the law and said he wanted to work with the Legislature on further “common sense gun-reform.”
As she did in her Republican primary, Moody stressed her prosecutorial experience in the race.
She also has called for keeping crime labs updated with the latest technological advances and opposed Amendment 4 — which called for automatic restoration of voting rights for most felons who have served their sentences. Voters approved Amendment 4 on Tuesday night.
Shaw, 40, campaigned on a pledge to aggressively take on fraud in Florida, as well as policies of the Republican-led Legislature and even President Donald Trump.
A former state insurance consumer advocate, Shaw backed the Affordable Care Act, which is being challenged legally by Bondi and Republican leaders of other states. He also supports abortion rights and said he would push lawmakers to carry out constitutional amendments on land preservation and medical marijuana as voters intended.
Shaw told supporters Tuesday night “we came so close,” but he said Democrats will have to review how they engaged with voters, particularly about Trump.
“Something is weird, and we have to figure that out,” Shaw said. “The voters aren’t wrong. You’re wrong in talking to them, or we didn’t do a good enough job convincing. Democrats around Florida, we’re going to figure this out.”
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Underhill Returning To Escambia Commission; Robinson Wins Pensacola Mayor
November 7, 2018
Incumbent Escambia County Commissioner Doug Underhill was reelected to his position Tuesday with 56.31 percent of the vote to 43.69 percent for Democrat Scott Trotter.
Current Escambia Commissioner Grover Robinson won his bid to be Pensacola’s mayor with 55.78 percent to 44.22 percent for Brian Spencer.
Republican Patronis Wins Full Term As Florida CFO
November 7, 2018
After being appointed as state chief financial officer last year by Gov. Rick Scott, Republican Jimmy Patronis on Tuesday won a four-year term in the Cabinet post.
Patronis, whose focus during the final weeks of the campaign was diverted to his hometown of Panama City after Hurricane Michael hit, defeated former state Sen. Jeremy Ring, a Broward County Democrat.
The contest was noted for acrimony between Patronis and Ring, who never met on stage to debate. Instead, the candidates drew more attention as they sniped over Ring’s resume at the internet company Yahoo!, Patronis’ crash of a state-issued car while driving to a meeting with a political consultant and Patronis’ ties to Scott.
Ring congratulated Patronis in a phone call late Tuesday, with Patronis noting that Ring “wished me well.”
Patronis, 46, is part of a family that operates the half-century-old Captain Anderson’s Restaurant in Panama City, where he held a campaign watch party on Tuesday.
Panama City sustained major damage in Hurricane Michael, which made landfall Oct. 10 in nearby Mexico Beach. Patronis was clearly shaken by the storm and its damage to such things as health-care facilities.
“The way the storm hit, we’re going to have approximately 10 hospitals that are going to have to be evacuated,” Patronis said the day after the hurricane. “Gulf Coast (Regional) Medical Center where my kids were born, Bay Medical Center where I was born, they’re empty, because they can’t support their mission.”.
Patronis outspent Ring $6.8 million to $1.6 million through their campaign accounts and affiliated political committees.
An early supporter of Scott’s first gubernatorial run in 2010, Patronis served eight years in the Florida House and was chairman of the House Economic Affairs Committee. Scott appointed Patronis to the Florida Public Service Commission before choosing him to succeed Jeff Atwater as CFO in 2017 after Atwater resigned to take a job at Florida Atlantic University.
In campaign ads, Patronis highlighted support during this year’s legislative session for a new workers’ compensation insurance law designed to assist first responders who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Patronis said he’d like to work with lawmakers to bring down the state corporate income-tax rate as a response to a federal tax package approved in December.
Ring, 48, spent five years with Yahoo!, coming aboard in 1996 as the company’s first sales chief, four years after he graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in advertising.
Patronis’ political committee Treasure Florida accused Ring in an ad of falsely claiming to be a founder of Yahoo!, but the sources for the claim were three media reports in which the writers affixed the “founder” label.
Ring served in the state Senate from 2006 to 2016, where he focused on issues involving venture capital, insurance and pensions. Widely viewed as a moderate Democrat, he pushed to create the State Office of Technology and helped establish the Florida Growth Fund through a bill that encouraged the State Board of Administration to invest a portion of state retirement money in “high-growth” homegrown tech companies.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Escambia Voters Chose Appointed School Superintendent
November 7, 2018
The next school superintendent in Escambia County will be appointed by the school board, not elected by the voters.
Escambia County voters narrowly approved a referendum Tuesday in favor of an appointed superintendent 50.36 percent to 49.64 percent according to complete, but unofficial, totals from the Escambia County Supervisor of Elections.
This was the sixth time voters had considered the idea of an appointed superintendent in the county. Current Superintendent Malcolm Thomas will serve the remainder of his term ending in 2020.
Not So Fast: Scott-Nelson Senate Race Could Require Recount
November 7, 2018
After Gov. Rick Scott declared victory late Tuesday in his race for a U.S. Senate seat, numbers posted Wednesday morning on the Florida Division of Elections website indicate a recount could be needed.
The updated numbers showed Scott with 4,074,001 votes, or 50.21 percent, while Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson had 4,039,498 votes, or 49.79 percent. Under state law, a recount is triggered when the margin is 0.5 percent or less.
Such a recount would involve running ballots through tabulating machines to determine the accuracy of the vote totals, according to state law
As of midnight, Scott led by about 56,000 votes out of more than 8 million cast, or a margin of 50.35 percent to 49.65 percent.
Nelson did not make a public statement. Shortly before midnight, Scott, flanked by his family, addressed supporters in Naples.He acknowledged the combative nature of the race, in which Scott and his supporters repeatedly characterized Nelson, 76, as verging on senility.
Campaigns are “divisive” and “tough,” Scott said.
“And they’re really actually way too nasty,” he said. “But you know what? We’ve done this for over 200 years, and after these campaigns, we come together.”
by The News Service of Florida
No Serious Injuries In Highway 29 Morning Wreck
November 6, 2018
There were no serious injuries in a morning commute crash on Highway 29 at Roberts Road in Cantonment. Minor passengers in the crash were reportedly properly restrained in safety seats. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Libbie Johnson Named UF/IFAS Extension Professional Of The Year
November 6, 2018
Libbie Johnson, agricultural agent for UF/IFAS Extension Escambia County, has named the Extension Professional of the Year. The award was presented at the Florida Farm Bureau Annual Meeting.
The Extension Professional of the Year Award recognizes an Extension Agent who has contributed to the Farm Bureau mission and vision, assisted with crop and/or animal production, completed notable work toward improving Florida agriculture and provided superior customer serving when working with county Farm Bureaus statewide.
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge
Highway 29 Crash Claims One Life
November 6, 2018
A single vehicle accident on Highway 29 in Cantonment claimed the life of a Pensacola man Monday night.
Patrick Owen Henry, 58, was pronounced deceased following the 6 p.m. crash.
The Florida Highway Patrol said Henry was traveling south on Highway 29 near Success Drive when his 2013 Dodge Challenger left the roadway and entered the grassy shoulder. The vehicle traveled about 60 feet on the shoulder before colliding with a cluster of small bushes and a large pine tree.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
