DeSantis Win Paves Way For Conservative Court
November 8, 2018
Ron DeSantis’ narrow win in Tuesday’s election for governor will bring an unprecedented expansion of conservative Republican power in Tallahassee.
Democrats haven’t won a governor’s race since 1994. They haven’t controlled the state House or Senate since the mid-1990s. They lost their last Cabinet member in 2010.
Now, with DeSantis’ election, that conservative Republican influence will extend to the Florida Supreme Court, which has a 4-3 liberal majority that has blocked many initiatives advanced by the Republican-led Legislature and Gov. Rick Scott.
As he takes office on Jan. 8, DeSantis, a 40-year-old former congressman from Ponte Vedra Beach, will have the power to appoint three new members of the state’s highest court, replacing three justices who are part of the liberal bloc and who have reached a mandatory retirement age.
DeSantis, a Harvard-educated lawyer, has said that he will appoint conservative justices who are “solid constitutionalists.”
Talking to reporters Tuesday night in Orlando, DeSantis said his court appointees “will be very, very smart, very principled people, but they’re going to understand that their role is to apply the law and not rewrite the law.” He said the appointments will bring an end to “judicial activism” on the court.
The appointments may also have a lasting impact since voters approved a constitutional amendment Tuesday that will allow the new justices, as well as other judges throughout the state, to serve until they are 75 years old, up from the current mandatory retirement age of 70.
A conservative majority on the Supreme Court is likely to be more deferential to initiatives advanced by DeSantis and the Legislature, where the GOP on Tuesday maintained a solid majority in the House and at least 23 seats in the 40-member Senate.
But in his victory speech, DeSantis talked little about partisan politics and emphasized the need as the state’s next governor to work with all Floridians, including those who opposed him.
“Political campaigns are a rough business and often about highlighting our differences. And, unfortunately, in this day and age they often spiral into outright demagoguery,” DeSantis said. “But governing is different. Governing is about getting things done on behalf of the people of Florida, keeping our economy going, improving our water quality and environment, promoting public safety and expanding educational opportunities.
“We need to build a Florida that is cleaner, safer, stronger and that will be my guiding light as governor,” he said.
DeSantis said one area where he might unite Floridians will be behind an effort to address the problems of toxic algae and red tide and on moving forward with plans to restore the Florida Everglades.
“I think the first priority in terms of what is really urgent for Florida is really getting us on a strong track on water quality and the environment,” he said.
DeSantis said he would use his relationship with President Donald Trump, who held campaign rallies for him, to advance the federal portions of the effort, including the creation of a reservoir near Lake Okeechobee to help divert and treat polluted water.
“I think you’re going to get tired of me calling you, asking you for things for Florida,” DeSantis said about Trump. “But I look forward to that. I think we’ll have a great partnership.”
DeSantis will also have willing partners in the Florida House and Senate. Incoming House Speaker Jose Oliva, R-Miami Lakes, was an early supporter of DeSantis. The newly elected lieutenant governor, state Rep. Jeanette Nunez, R-Miami, will also help DeSantis navigate the legislative process.
Lawmakers and the new governor are likely to find common ground on issues such as tax cuts, opposition to expanding Medicaid and the creation of more educational “choice” programs like charter schools and scholarships to send students to private schools.
DeSantis is also a strong supporter of gun rights, meaning any gun-control efforts are not likely to advance, and is open to restrictions on abortions. In the Republican primary, he voiced support for a “heartbeat bill,” which would prohibit doctors from providing abortions if fetal heartbeats can be detected.
As U.S. Navy veteran who served in the Iraq war, DeSantis will also find legislative support for his efforts to support active military members and veterans in the state.
One of DeSantis’ biggest challenges will be moving from a legislative branch, where he served nearly three terms in Congress, to the chief executive of the nation’s third-largest state.
DeSantis is taking over a huge enterprise, and one of his first tasks will be shaping a state budget proposal for 2019-2020 that is likely to be in excess of $89 billion.
He also must appoint a host of state agency heads overseeing areas such as education, health care, transportation and prisons.
Even prior to Tuesday’s election, DeSantis said he was putting together a transition plan for taking over from Scott, who leads in a U.S. Senate race that is expected to require a recount.
“You have to put together a government. I mean that’s a lot of work,” DeSantis said. “We have been doing this quietly behind the scenes, not to be presumptuous, but just because you don’t have enough time. You have to start doing it.”
by Lloyd Dunkelberger, The News Service of Florida
Incumbent Boutwell, Newcomer Smith Win Century Council Seats
November 7, 2018
Incumbent Benjamin Boutwell and political newcomer James Smith, Jr. were elected to the Century Town Council Tuesday.
“I just want to thank the citizens of the Town of Century,” Boutwell said. “Thank you so much for supporting me. We’ve got a lot of work to do. We have got a good council. Let’s work with the mayor. It looks like we are going to have a good four years ahead of us.”
“I am excited that I won,” Smith said. “I looking forward to helping the community of Century, to making it a better place. I can’t express how excited I’ve been. I’ve been thinking about this all day and for the last couple of months, and now that it’s finally come to fruition, I’m ready to serve Century.”
Smith won the seat currently held by longtime council member Gary Riley, who did not see reelection.
Incumbent Sandra McMurray Jackson will also return to the council. She automatically won back in June when no one qualified to run against her.
Boutwell, Smith and Jackson will be sworn in at the first Century Town Council meeting in January.
Complete, but unofficial, results are as follows:
Century Town Council, Seat 3
**Benjamin D. Boutwell – 303
Amanuel Onell Dubose – 195
Century Town Council, Seat 4
**James Smith, Jr. – 277
Mary Hudson Bourgeois – 230
Pictured top: Ben Boutwell and James Smith, Jr. Picture below: Amanuel Dubose and Smith. Pictured below: Former Century Mayor Freddie McCall watches as Mary Bourgeois looks at election returns. Pictured below: Current Century Mayor Henry Hawkins reviews vote totals from the Century precinct before they are posted for public view on the polling room door. Pictured bottom: Boutwell and his wife Cheryl wave at voters Tuesday afternoon outside the Century precinct. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Hill Headed To The House; Gaetz Going Back To Washington
November 7, 2018
Rep. Matt Gaetz won reelection Tuesday to the U.S. House with 67 percent of the vote to Democratic challenger Jennifer Zimmerman’s 33 percent.
For Florida State Representative, Republican Mike Hill was elected with 61 percent to 39 percent for Vikki Garrett.
Complete Escambia County Election Results
November 7, 2018
Here are complete, but unofficial results from Escambia County:
Florida Ag Commissioner Race Heads Toward Recount
November 7, 2018
UPDATED — Despite a declaration of victory Tuesday night by Republican Matt Caldwell, the race for Florida agriculture commissioner likely will require a recount, joining expected recounts in the U.S. Senate race and a handful of state legislative contests.
Caldwell, a state House member from North Fort Myers, led by less than 13,000 votes late Wednesday morning in the Cabinet race against Democrat Nikki Fried. Slightly more than 8 million votes were cast in the race, according to numbers posted by the Florida Division of Elections.
“This is the closest race since we’ve seen here in Florida since Bush v. Gore in 2000 — we’re heading into a recount,” Fried, a Fort Lauderdale lawyer and lobbyist, said in a prepared statement Wednesday morning. “We are going to ensure that every vote is counted, in a race this close, everyone’s voices must be heard so the will of the people is upheld.”
Caldwell declared victory Tuesday night at an election-watch party. His campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
The state elections website had Caldwell with 50.08 percent of the vote to 49.92 percent for Fried. A machine recount is triggered when the margin of victory is 0.5 percent or less. A manual recount would be called if the vote margin is 0.25 percent or less.
Meanwhile, the highest-profile recount is anticipated in the U.S. Senate contest, where Republican Gov. Rick Scott also declared victory late Tuesday.
But Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson’s campaign described Scott’s declaration as premature, as the vote difference Wednesday morning was just over 30,000 from among 8.13 million votes cast. Scott had 50.19 percent of the vote, while Nelson was at 49.81 percent.
“We are proceeding to a recount,” Nelson said in a prepared statement.
Scott campaign spokesman Chris Hartline responded Wednesday that the “race is over.”
“It’s a sad way for Bill Nelson to end his career,” Hartline said in a statement. “He is desperately trying to hold on to something that no longer exists.”
Nelson’s campaign said in a news release that it intends to observe all 67 county elections supervisors for “irregularities, mistakes or unusual partisan activities.”
“We expect the supervisors, regardless of their party affiliation, will discharge their constitutional duties,” said Marc Elias, an election lawyer representing the Nelson campaign.
Three legislative races also appear likely to require recounts.
In the state Senate, incumbent Republican Dana Young trailed by 289 votes at midday Wednesday to Democratic challenger Janet Cruz, the House minority leader. Young and Cruz are battling in Hillsborough County’s Senate District 18.
In the House, Republican Elizabeth Fetterhoff was up by 72 votes Wednesday morning over Democratic incumbent Patrick Henry of Daytona Beach in Volusia County’s House District 26.
Also, in Palm Beach County, Republican Mike Caruso was up by 124 votes over Democrat Jim Bonfiglio for the House District 89 seat, which is open because Rep. Bill Hager, R-Delray Beach, faces term limits.
The first unofficial returns are due to the state Division of Elections by noon Saturday from county canvassing boards.
Secretary of State Ken Detzner will order any recounts.
A recount must be conducted before noon Nov. 18, when the official returns are due from each county canvassing board.
The Florida Elections Canvassing Commission — comprised of Scott and two Cabinet members — is slated to meet 9 a.m. Nov. 20 to certify the election results.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
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.
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.
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