TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Sheriff, 2 Commission Seats Among Posts Up For Election

ADVERTISEMENT

By RONNIE BLAIR

rblair@tampatrib.com

Published: October 19, 2008

Pasco County voters have a chance Nov. 4 either to bring new faces to government or reward those already there with another term.

The sheriff, the school superintendent, the supervisor of elections and two county commissioners hope to hold onto their jobs, but challengers are saying it's time for a change.

Meanwhile, new faces are a certainty in the races for circuit court clerk and circuit judge, Group 8, where no incumbents are involved.

Here is how the races shape up:

Sheriff

After fending off one Republican challenger during the Aug. 26 primary, Pasco Sheriff Bob White goes into the general election defending his post against Democratic opponent Kim Bogart and non-partisan candidate Bobby Kinzy.

Bogart, 56, took the Democratic primary with 74 percent of the vote and wants to improve services at the sheriff's office by returning to the crime-fighting mission. Now a consultant to law enforcement agencies, Bogart began his career with the Tampa Police Department and also worked for the Pasco County Sheriff's Office before being let go when White took office in 2001.

White began his career with the Brooksville Police Department 29 years ago and wants to be the first sheriff in decades to win a third term. White, 58, says he wants to continue working as a "citizen's first" agency and strives to do less with more in this time of fiscal constraints.

Kinzy, 60, a Vietnam veteran and retired lead mechanic for TECO's transportation department, considers his lack of law enforcement experience an asset. He has concerns that the sheriff's office duplicates services other county departments have such as the garage and human resources.
School Superintendent
Superintendent Heather Fiorentino is seeking a second four-year term as the Pasco County School District's leader, but political newcomer Stephen Donaldson, a Gulf High School teacher, hopes to unseat her.

Fiorentino, 50, points to numerous achievements in her four years as superintendent, including: Pasco received districtwide accreditation, built more than a dozen schools, added classroom wings to several other schools and, for the first time, was an A district in the state's grading system.

Donaldson, 50, teaches Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate classes. He is a retired Air Force major.

Donaldson has said he wants to re-evaluate Learning Focused Strategies, a teaching method that was implemented by Fiorentino and that has drawn complaints from the employees' union.

He also has said the superintendent's office needs to repair its relationship with the school board and the union.

Supervisor Of Elections

For the first time in decades, Pasco voters will elect someone other than Kurt Browning as supervisor of elections.

Browning was tapped by Gov. Charlie Crist in 2007 as Florida secretary of state. Crist appointed Brian Corley, an administrator for the sheriff, to replace Browning.

Corley, 38, had no experience overseeing elections, but he was a politically connected Republican with a master's degree in public administration. In less than two years, he has run four elections and implemented the new optical-scan voting system.

Corley is challenged by Pat Carroll, a lawyer who changed her party affiliation to run as a Democrat. Carroll, 50, also comes from a law enforcement and social service background. She attended law school after serving years as a child abuse investigator and supervising the Juvenile Justice Center in Dade City.

County Commission, District 3

In District 3, Pasco County Commissioner Ann Hildebrand faces challenger Teresa Conroy.

Hildebrand, 70, is a retired social worker and a Republican from Gulf Harbors. She's running for her seventh and self-imposed final term on the commission.

During her time on the commission, Hildebrand has served several times as chairwoman. She also sits on the Tampa Bay Water board and Tampa Bay Regional Transportation Authority board.

Conroy, 49, is a former permit reviewer with Lexington Homes and current vice president of Bay Area Tradewinds, an online publication.

Conroy, a Democrat, says her experience in the building industry gives her a good perspective on ways to improve county government. One way to do that would be to improve the efficiency by which the county approves permits for development, she said.

County Commission, District 5

In District 5, incumbent Jack Mariano faces challenger Ginny Miller.

Mariano, 48, won his first term in 2004 after defeating sitting commission Chairman Peter Altman.

In his term on the commission, Republican Mariano chaired the Tourism Development Council and the Metropolitan Planning Organization, which sets the county's transportation policy. He also represented Pasco County on the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council.

Miller, 49, a Democrat, said her years on New Port Richey City Council give her the skills she will need to serve the county, including experience negotiating an annual budget.

She said her years teaching at Gulf Middle School also give her valuable perspective on the county's needs.

Circuit Judge, Group 8

Robert Angus Williams has a lot of ground to make up if he hopes to defeat Susan Gardner in the race to replace outgoing Circuit Judge Wayne Cobb. Gardner, an assistant public defender, bested Williams, a private lawyer, by nearly 10,000 votes in the August primary.

A runoff is needed because Gardner didn't receive 50 percent of the vote.

Gardner, 46, of Hudson, has worked for the Pasco-Pinellas Public Defender's Office since 1999.

Williams, 37, of Palm Harbor, is a partner with the firm of Fowler White Boggs Banker. He earned his law degree in 1995 and spent four years at the State Attorney's Office in Pinellas County.

Clerk Of Circuit Court

Paula O'Neil routed Dan Tipton by nearly 9,000 votes in the August Republican primary. Now, she will match up with New Port Richey lawyer Robert Altman, a Democrat. The winner will replace Jed Pittman, who is retiring after holding the job for 30 years.

O'Neil, 51, has worked in government for 23 years and has been Pittman's chief deputy for the past six.

Altman, 52, is making his second run for clerk after losing to Pittman in 2004. He has been a lawyer in New Port Richey for 27 years and touts his experience working with clerk's offices in Pasco and surrounding counties.

Reporters Lisa A. Davis, Laura Kinsler, Kevin Wiatrowski and Todd Leskanic contributed to this report.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT