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Over 3,700 Gonzalez Area Voters Have A New Polling Place

Over 3,700 voters in the Gonzalez area will have a new polling location on election day.

Precinct 38 will now vote at the Gonzalez Baptist Church at 1590 Pauline Street instead of the Gonzalez United Methodist Church.

Voters cards and letters were mailed the voters notifying them of their new polling place.

The primary election is August 28.

GOP Race For Attorney General Gets Personal

With Attorney General Pam Bondi barred from running for another term, former Hillsborough County Circuit Judge Ashley Moody and state Rep. Frank White are locked in an expensive and personally contentious Republican primary fight as they seek to replace her.

White, a freshman legislator who is an executive at chain of family-owned auto dealerships, has used his personal wealth to fire shots at Moody. Among other things, the Pensacola lawmaker has charged that Moody isn’t a fully committed Republican, as she once registered as a Democrat and her family sued President Donald Trump nearly a decade ago for fraud.

Moody, a former prosecutor who stepped down as a judge in April 2017 after just over a decade in the position, has described White as a “car salesman turned politician” with no prosecutorial experience.

Moody professes support for Trump and has received backing from much of the party establishment in the Aug. 28 primary, with Bondi being one of her early supporters.

But Aubrey Jewett, a political-science professor at the University of Central Florida, said White’s ability to self-fund — $2.77 million of White’s own money has gone into the race, plus at least $438,000 more tied to the Sansing auto dealership and family— has allowed the liberal depictions of Moody to reach ears statewide.

“I originally thought Moody sounded like she may be able to take this thing,” Jewett said. “But being the regular establishment favorite doesn’t mean much anymore. It all seems to be where you stand with Donald Trump (more) than anything else. And clearly, White, from his ads, is trying to depict Moody as not Trump enough.”

White repeatedly points out that Moody initially registered to vote, while a teenager, as a Democrat, and donated to the 2002 Democratic gubernatorial campaign of Bill McBride.

White mailers have claimed Moody “fought for lighter sentences” against pedophiles and child pornographers as a prosecutor and judge. Meanwhile, a White campaign video ad states that Moody “was a lifelong Democrat” and that she “personally” sued Trump.

Moody said she changed registration to Republican while in law school, and the $100 contribution to McBride was made after she joined his law firm. As for the Trump lawsuit, her family was among a number of plaintiffs that settled in 2011 after claims of “negligent misrepresentations” by Trump and the Trump Organization over the scuttled plans for the 52-story Trump Tower Tampa condominiums along the Hillsborough River.

The winner of the GOP primary will move on to the Nov. 6 general election and face either state Rep. Sean Shaw of Tampa or consumer attorney Ryan Torrens, who are battling in the Democratic primary. Jeff Siskind, an attorney from Wellington also is running without a party affiliation.

White, 39, is a native of Amarillo, Texas, who received his bachelor’s and law degrees from Southern Methodist University, where he was student body president in 1999-2000, and the student representative to the Board of Trustees.

He initially practiced as an attorney at the firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld before moving to Florida in 2010. He became the chief financial officer and general counsel for the Sansing chain of auto dealerships in Florida, Alabama and Mississippi owned by his wife’s family. A local leader of the Federalist Society, he won election to the state House in 2016. White and his wife, Stephanie, have three sons.

Moody, 43, is from a family with a lengthy history in the legal profession. After earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting and a law degree from the University of Florida and later a master’s of law in international law at the Stetson University College of Law, she practiced commercial litigation at Holland & Knight.

She later joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office as a federal prosecutor. Her husband, Justin, is a federal law-enforcement agent. The Moodys have two sons. In 2006, she was elected to the circuit court in Hillsborough County.

With more than $6 million spent by the campaigns and related political committees, the mounting acrimony has elevated what was already one of the biggest races in the primaries.

Moody said she has the background to run the attorney general’s office, which is why she’s drawn the support of Bondi and nearly every top elected law-enforcement official in the state.

“I think voters are looking for a leader, someone that shares their same political and philosophical views,” Moody said. “I’m a conservative, but I’m also someone who has experience prosecuting cases. … There is no question who those in law enforcement support.”

White points to his conservative “track record” as what differentiates him from Moody.

“Voters want a principled conservative that can be trusted to support the president,” White said. “I have a clear voting track record that can be examined. I believe the office is best served by a conservative, and constitutional rule of law is a matter that until my dying breath, as long as the voters trust me, is something I’m going to stand up to fight for.”

Both would follow Bondi by refusing to join a coalition of states suing the Trump administration over the separation of undocumented immigrant families. They also support her decision to take five of the nation’s largest opioid manufacturers and four distributors to court.

White and Moody both oppose a measure on the November ballot known as Amendment 4, which, if approved, would automatically restore voting rights to felons who have served their sentences.

Also, they disagree with Bondi over the state’s arguments that a 19-year-old Alachua County woman should not be able to remain anonymous in a National Rifle Association challenge to a new state gun restriction.

The NRA challenged part of a broad school-safety law passed after the Feb. 14 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Broward County. The disputed part of the law raises from 18 to 21 the minimum age to buy rifles and other long guns in Florida.

The Alachua County teen has sought to join the lawsuit and remain anonymous. White voted against the law, questioning the new gun restrictions.

“I firmly believe it went too far in infringing on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens,” White said.

Moody also said she wouldn’t have backed the measure due to the provision related to the age of gun buyers.

“There are, however, parts of the act that I agree with. I support the hardening of our schools, expanding law enforcement’s presence and role on campus, and providing more mental health screening and treatment to students,” Moody said.

by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida

Northview Football Teacher Of The Week

submitted by The Northview Chiefs

During the football season this year, members of the football team, both Varsity and JV, will be electing a Teacher of the Week based on the teacher’s hard work and dedication to inspiring the football team members in an academic setting.

Each week, we would like to invite the teacher to our pregame meal on Friday (if possible), to talk to the team prior to the game on Friday night and stand on the sideline with the team during the game.

Also, each teacher will receive a Northview football t-shirt.

This week, for the inaugural Teacher of the Week, the senior class voted and we would like to congratulate Mr. Shugart for winning the award!

Mr. Shugart has been extremely valuable to the football team by volunteering his time during the week to tutor the football team after school during the season and encouraging the athletes in class.

It is an honor to have Mr. Shugart represent the football team this week as we prepare to play host to Vernon in the preseason Kickoff Classic on Friday at home! Please come out and support the team in their first home game of the season. On Friday, both JV and Varsity will be playing one half each.

Meet the Chiefs will be held Thursday at 6 p.m. at Northview.

Appointees Sought For Escambia County Contractor Competency Board

Wahoos Back on Track with 7-4 Win

The Blue Wahoos made McKenzie Mill’s (L, 0-1) Double-A debut he’ll soon want to forget. The Wahoos ambushed the southpaw with five runs in the first inning and never looked back in a 7-4 win Tuesday night at Blue Wahoos Stadium.

Mills, who was acquired by the Marlins on Friday, was chased out of the game after two-thirds of an inning. After Jose Siri popped out to open the game the next five Wahoos would all come home to score. With two on, Aristides Aquino blooped his first of three hits into right field to load the bases. Shed Long followed with a bases-clearing triple to make it 3-0. The next batter was Taylor Featherston and he crushed his first home run since joining the Wahoos to make it 5-0. After hitting Chris Okey with a pitch, manager Randy Ready went to his bullpen and Scott Squier retired Wahoos starter Seth Varner to end the first inning.

Varner (W, 8-2) turned in another winning effort with seven innings of eight hit, three-run ball against Jacksonville. There were moments where Varner ran into trouble. He allowed a home run to Brian Schales in the second inning, which brought the score to 5-1. In the third, he hit Joe Dunand on an 0-2 pitch, and Dunand would come to score after Jacksonville rattled off a pair of hits in the fourth. In the fifth, Monte Harrison barreled his 17th homer of the year to make it a 5-3 game.

However, the offense picked up Varner and came right back with two runs in the bottom of the fifth to extend the lead to 7-3. Taylor Featherston smacked a one-out triple to center field and scored on Gavin LaValley’s RBI-single. After a base hit from Okey, Varner picked up his first career RBI with a single to left to bring home LaValley.

Alex Powers (S, 16) closed out the ninth inning for the Wahoos for his third save in as many appearances. Powers struck out one and with a man on forced Brian Miller to pop out to short to end the game.

The Wahoos continue their five-game series against the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp on Wednesday. RHP Vladimir Gutierrez (9-9, 4.16) will take the hill for Pensacola against RHP Nick Neidert (10-6, 3.23).

One Injured In Cantonment Crash

One person was injured in a traffic crash at East Kingsfield Road and Tate Road in Cantonment  about 8:34 this morning. The injured person was transported to an area hospital by Escambia County EMS. The wreck is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.

Escambia Schools: No More Walking Kids To Class, New SROs, Metal Detectors

New safety and security measures in place this year in the Escambia County School District include metal detectors, additonal resource officers, and a new policy banning parents from continuing to walk their children to class.

“Some of this may have parents feeling inconvenienced, but it’s the little price we pay to have schools safe and locked down,” Escambia County School Superintendent Malcolm Thomas said.

Random Metal Detector Screenings

Metal detectors will be used randomly in middle and high schools. Students will watch a video next week explaining the process, and parents will be notified.

“There will single points of entrance on campuses, and visitors and parents will first go  to the main office to swipe their driver’s license,” Thomas said.

No More Walking Students To Class

Parents of elementary school students will only be allowed to walk their students to class the first three days of school.

“After the third day, will not allow parents to walk students to class,” he said. “We don’t know who is suppose to be on the campus and who is not unless they checked into the system. We are compliant with the new security requirements signed by the governor last spring. Parents will need a yellow security badge from the main office. Will will question people in the hallway without one,” the superintendent said.

SRO or Armed Security At Every School

There is now a school resource officer at every middle and high school, and  armed off-duty law enforcement officers from the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office or Pensacola Police Department on every elementary campus. Last year, Northview High School and Ernest Ward Middle School shared a SRO, but there is now an officer full-time at both schools. The district’s other high schools, which are larger than Northview, have two school resource officers on campus.

First Aid Kits In Classrooms

By next week, every classroom in the Escambia County School District will have a first aid kit that include compression bandage and tourniquets.

“The kits will be there in the event you had a situation to keep the patient stable until EMS arrives, whether it be an accident or an active shooter,” Thomas said.

Pictured: A classroom at the new Kingsfield Elementary School. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

Residents Of Private Road In Molino Request County Improvements

The property owners on HomePlace Lane in Molino  are requesting to pay the county to make improvements on their private road.

At their Thursday meeting, the Escambia County Commission will consider setting a public hearing on the request to create the Homeplace Lane Roadway Improvements Municipal Services Benefit Unit (MSBU). If the commission approves, the public hearing will be set for 5:31 p.m. on September 6.

Students Head Back To Class (With Photo Gallery)

Monday was the first day of school…so that means it’s time for our annual Back to School Photo Gallery.

We asked NorthEscambia.com readers to submit their back to school photos.

For a photo gallery with hundreds of photos, click here.

We apologize, but due to a tremendous response, we were unable to publish all the photos we received, and we are unable to add additional photos to the gallery.

Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

Rylan and Karsyn on their first day of second grade at Beulah Elementary with Mrs. Burgess.

Kamryn and Kylee, Bratt Elementary and Ernest Ward Middle School.

Delaney, seventh grade at Ransom Middle School, Savannah, eleventh grade at Tate High School.

Nora, Molino Park Elementary.

Cooper, first grade, Bratt Elementary.

Eli, first day of kindergarten at the new Kingsfield Elementary

By The Numbers: Voter Registration Stats For Escambia County And Statewide

The voter registration books are closed for the 2018 primary election. The official registered voter count in Escambia County is:

• Republican – 93,889 – 45%
• Democratic – 70,930 – 34%
• No Party Affiliation – 42,830 – 20%
• Minor Parties – 1,568 – 0.75%

THE BIG PICTURE: As Florida’s population has continued to grow, so has the number of voters, with 13,013,657 registered to cast ballots in the primaries. By comparison, 12.37 million were registered to vote in the 2016 primaries, and 11.8 million were registered to vote in the 2014 primaries.

Registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans, but not by a lot — 4,839,434 to 4,594,133. While both parties have seen registration increases since the 2016 primaries, the Democratic margin is about the same as it was two years ago.

NO LABELS, PLEASE: Voters who aren’t registered with the Democratic or Republican parties won’t be able to cast ballots in many primary races, including the marquee race for governor. But that hasn’t stopped the trend of Floridians ditching the donkeys and the elephants and registering “no party affiliation.”

The total of so-called NPA voters has climbed to 3,493,494 — or about 27 percent of the electorate. That is up from slightly more than 2.91 million voters, or about 23.6 percent, during the 2016 primaries.

DEMOCRATIC DOMINANCE: Conventional wisdom has long held that Democrats look to South Florida when they need votes. And there’s good reason for that: Miami-Dade County has 586,648 registered Democrats, Broward County has 577,248, and Palm Beach County has 387,445 — nearly a third of all of the registered Democrats in the state.

It’s also no wonder that Democrats focus on the Orlando area. In Orange and Osceola counties, registered Democrats now outnumber Republicans by 161,000 voters. With both parties focusing heavily this year on attracting Hispanic voters, Democrats also hold about a 100,000-voter edge in Orange and Osceola among Latinos.

GOP HEAVEN: Registered Republicans are outnumbered by Democrats in each of the seven most-populated counties — Broward, Duval, Hillsborough, Miami-Dade, Orange, Palm Beach and Pinellas (though the GOP trails by fewer than, 1,000 voters in Pinellas.) But the GOP has been successful for the past two decades, at least in part, because it has dominated regions such as North Florida, Southwest Florida and many suburban areas.

The new numbers bear that out. For example, in Northwest Florida, registered Republicans make up more than half of the voters in Bay, Holmes, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Walton and Washington counties. The same holds true in Northeast Florida in Baker, Clay, Nassau and St. Johns counties. It also goes for Sumter County, which is home to much of the massive Villages retirement community, and Collier County in Southwest Florida.

DON’T FORGET THE LITTLE GUYS: Much of the attention during this year’s campaign focuses on candidates going to large media markets and party strongholds as they try to amass votes. But the new registration numbers also give a glimpse of smaller, rural counties that can get lost in the debate.

Nine counties — Calhoun, Dixie, Franklin, Glades, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lafayette, Liberty and Union counties — each have fewer than 10,000 registered voters. The smallest are Lafayette, with 4,312 voters, and Liberty, with 4,365, followed by Glades, with 6,751. Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans in each of the nine counties, though GOP President Donald Trump carried all of the counties in 2016.

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