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Newly Reelected Escambia Commissioners Sworn In For New Terms
November 18, 2020
Three Escambia County commissioners were sworn in Tuesday for four year terms after being reelected, and the gavel passed to a new commission chairman.
District 1 Commissioner Jeff Bergosh took the oath to begin his second term on the Escambia County Commission, while District 5 Commissioner Steven Barry and District 3 Commissioner Lumon May were sworn in for their third terms.
The chairman gavel was passed from Barry to District 4 Commissioner Robert Bender, and Bergosh became vice chairman for the next year. The board chair rotates on a set annual basis.
All three men spoke, sometimes emotionally, about their families.
Jeff Bergosh, District 1
“I want to thank God. Nothing’s more important…,” said Jeff Bergosh, who was sworn in by his brother, Circuit Court Judge Gary Bergosh. “Nothing happens without Him, so I thank God for all His blessings on me, this community and our wonderful country.”
Bergosh took a moment to thank his wife Sally for her sacrifices.
“This woman, without her, I don’t know where I’d be. She’s followed me on every adventure,” he said. “Mother of my children, I just don’t know where I’d be without you.” He also thanked his children.
“Things will get better. We will get past this virus,” Jeff Bergosh remarked. “We will move forward. Our economy will recover and right here in Escambia County, as a kid that grew up here, our best days are ahead of us, ahead of us. And I look forward to all the great things that this board is going to do for the citizens.”
“I look forward to the great things that we are going to do. We will bring District 1’s first public library; that’s coming. It’s funded. We will bring tremendous infrastructure to District 1; it’s coming. We are going to bring a brand new fire station to Beulah. It’s desperately needed; it’s coming.”
Lumon May, District 3
“First I give honor to God for allowing me to have the ability to serve this community,” May said before thanking his family.
“When you decide to run for office, it’s not just you running. It’s your entire family. It’s the good, the bad, the horrific things said, the painful things that you bear…you don’t bare it alone. You bare it with your family.”
Steven Barry, District 5
As Barry made his remarks, he looked up from the field at Blue Wahoos Stadium into the stands and saw his wife Ellen with their young son Jack.
“I see Ellen has walked off in the hallway with Jack,” he said, pausing.
“These are very stressful positions on your family,” Barry said. “Sometimes we feel that people are talking bad about us or saying things about us. But at least we always have an opportunity to have a forum to respond. … Our spouses, our children, they don’t have the opportunity to do that.”
His voice cracked with emotion as he continued.
“They are left to us to defend not just ourselves but them….I’m also very thankful to have my mom here today….It was very difficult.”
“Mom was able to be here last time,” he said, pausing again with emotion. “She was able to be here again today.
Comments
10 Responses to “Newly Reelected Escambia Commissioners Sworn In For New Terms”
I voted for Jeff begrudgingly reminds Me Too Much of Mike Whitehead. Hope he does better for the people.
Congratulations to all of our country commissioners..they have a very difficult job to do and do it well…As a retired Civics teacher, I stressed that one of the most difficult things to overcome is APATHY..the lack of participation in government..these five men and their families are to be commended for standing up and being part of the solution ..also taught it is so easy to criticize but it takes courage to act.
The north end of the county is in a mess, the beach is in disarray, citizens driving the long haul from the beach and GB are spending more than they make just to get to work, and then again there is Century with more problems trying to stay afloat, have you been to Perdido lately?. So, why do we keep electing these idiots that do nothing except pat each other on the back for doing absolutely nothing for the citizens of the county????
Hope these 3 do a lot better job than the bunch in there last year.
Need to pay attention to the County and get some things done for We the People.
Congratulations Commissioner Barry. The community of District 5 are very appreciative of you. Not everyone always agree with you, but the majority does. Keep up the good works and may God bless you and your lovely family.
They are in their family group for the most part. Like the groups at football games in the stands.
I also support mask wearing and the upcoming vaccine (and the recounts and legal challenges with the election nationally).
How hard would it have been to set an example though…Maybe they did.
Personal responsibility and MYOB.
Relieved to see the incumbents sworn back in.
@Live Free
COUNTLESS scientific studies have shown that mask wearing significantly decreases the spread of SARS-CoV-2 (that’s the name of the virus that causes Covid-19, but you knew that).
Certainly the coronavirus pandemic has been unnecessarily politicized by both Democrats and Republicans. But it’s ok to be a conservative and still believe in science.
I’m a conservative AND a scientist… imagine that!!
But by all means, carry on being “that guy”. And when this never goes away, and thus continues to be a political weapon, you need only look in the mirror to find the reason why.
@Live Free
Hundreds of studies have been done by every medical association from John’s Hopkins, the CDC, the WHO, and the AAP that have consistently shown that wearing a simple cloth mask reduces your transmission rate by anywhere from 70%-90%.
Lose the frigging masks. They’re useless and you’re outside for Christ’s sake. Just end the charade once and for all. Congrats on your re-elections. Glad Bergosh and Berry are back at it.
Locally we’re having around 70-100 new cases and 1-5 deaths everyday and still I see scenes like this not social distancing, not wearing masks. I don’t care if it’s an election ceremony, Christmas, Joe Biden scores a touchdown in the Super Bowl, Donald Trump shoots people on 5th Avenue, George Floyd comes back to life and is moonwalking with Prince and Michael Jackson – it doesn’t matter how exciting or important we think it is – we have to stop spreading this thing. That means you stop giving the virus a chance to jump from person to person. It’s that simple. That’s all we have to do.