TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Ousted Councilwoman Vies For Mosquito Board

ADVERTISEMENT

By CHRISTIAN M. WADE

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 14, 2008

PORT RICHEY - She lost her city council seat but hasn't given up on politics.

Former Vice Mayor Nancy Britton, who failed to win re-election in April, filed paperwork this week to challenge three-term incumbent Sandra "Sandy" Applefield for a seat on the Pasco County Mosquito Control Board in the Nov. 4 general elections.

Britton, 49, of Port Richey, was elected to the Port Richey council in 2006 and served as vice mayor last year. She garnered 16 percent of the vote in her losing re-election bid.

"I've always been very interested in politics and enjoy serving the community, and after the election I figured why not give it a shot," she said Friday. "And I hate mosquitoes."

Applefield, first elected in 1997, was unopposed in the past two countywide elections and is chairwoman of the three-member board.

Commissioners serve four-year terms and receive an annual stipend of $4,800.

As of Friday, no other candidate had stepped forward to challenge Applefield. Incumbent board member Gary Joiner also is running for re-election.

Applefield, also a Port Richey resident, could not be reached for comment.

In Florida and elsewhere, mosquito control districts were established primarily to halt the spread of yellow fever, malaria and other diseases carried by the insects.

Created in 1951 to control pests on Pasco's marshy west coast, the district expanded in 2003 to include the entire county amid concerns about the spread of West Nile virus.

The district's annual budget has increased about tenfold, to roughly $4 million, since the early 1970s, and the number of full-time workers has grown to more than two dozen.

Reporter Christian M. Wade can be reached at (727) 815-1082 or cwade@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT