Posts from — July 2008

This week, Progressive Pensacola has been profiling the 2008 race for Escambia County Sheriff:

• Monday: Ron McNesby
• Tuesday: David Morgan
• Wednesday: Sam Lucas
• Thursday: Larry Scapecchi

The Office

The Sheriff of Escambia County is the chief executive of the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office (ECSO) and the preeminent law enforcement official in Escambia County. He is responsible for all operations of the ECSO, including the operations of the Escambia County Jail. The Sheriff manages a budget that has risen to ~$86 million in FY2007-2008. While the ECSO is dependent on the Board of County Commissioners for budget appropriations, once the money is budgeted to the ECSO, the Clerk of Circuit Court has no power to audit the ECSO’s spending as it does with the Board of County Commissioners generally.

The race for Escambia County Sheriff has become by far the most expensive County-wide race, with the four candidates raising over $240,000 cumulatively, as of the first quarter. More than half of that figure comes from the incumbent, Mr. McNesby, alone.

The Sheriff’s annual salary is $138,636. Sheriffs are elected to serve a four-year term.

This year’s race features two Republicans: Ron McNesby (the incumbent) and David Morgan; and two Democrats: Sam Lucas and Larry Scapecchi. The Republican and Democratic primaries will be held on August 26. The winners of those contests will face each other in the general election on November 4.

Projections

Republican primary: It’s going to be close. McNesby has a huge money advantage, but the anti-incumbent and anti-McNesby sentiment in the air, combined with the support base that David Morgan has cultivated over the past few years, will make this a very competitive race, which I could see going either way. The bottom line is that McNesby will spend whatever amount of money and exert whatever influence he has to win reelection.

My gut tells me that McNesby will squeak by with a victory.

That said, I believe McNesby, rather than Morgan, is the easier candidate to beat in the general.

Democratic primary: This race won’t be as close. Both candidates are great guys and would make excellent sheriffs, in my view, but Scapecchi has an edge in money, political acumen, support network, etc. I think Scapecchi will score a decisive victory.

We’ll take another look at this race after the primary. The dynamics of the race will vary greatly depending on the matchup.

Escambia County Sheriff candidate David Morgan has had his best take of all fundraising periods with $13,401.33. He has raised $47,371.32 in total, with expenditures of $42,262.50, for a cash-on-hand total of about $5,100.

Who gave to Morgan this time around?

• $35 from Byron Keesler of the Escambia County Citizens Coalition
• $500 from dentist Bryan Gerstenberg
• $100 from Clayton Roesch of Grover Robinson and Associates
• $100 from Diana Hall, wife of Pensacola City Councilman Sam Hall
• $500 from Local 4131 firefighters’ union
• And many more!

Links
Morgan’s complete F1 report
All financial reporting

The Republican nominee for Escambia County Superintendent of Schools did well, bringing in an impressive $44,886.41. Who likes Thomas?

• $500 from Greenhut Construction
• $2,000 from developer Richard P. Morette and associated corporations
• $1,250 from Terhaars or Cronleys with Terhaar & Cronley contractors
• $500 from Eric Fritz, the school district’s director of transportation
• $1,250 from three attorneys of the McDonald, Fleming, Moorehead law firm
• $500 from Summit Dental (Dr. Nan Mullins)†
• $500 from Ed Ranelli of UWF
• $200 from Mort O’Sullivan of O’Sullivan Creel
• $500 from developer Eric J. Nickelsen
• $100 from Buzz Ritchie
• $100 from ECUA board member Lois Benson
• $500 from Hatch Mott McDonald
• $900 from Miller Caldwell’s family
• $200 from developer Dick Baker
• $100 from Mike Wiggins, everyone’s favourite member of Pensacola City Council
• $500 (in kind) from Collier Merrill
• $200 from George Touart
• $250 from Roads, Inc.
• $200 from Lt. Rex Blackburn of the ECSO
• $500 from Bullock Tice Associates
• $500 from Bay Design
• $500 from Apply Networks Corporation, an educational software developer

†Dr. Nan Mullins previously gave Thomas $500 through her self in his previous reporting period.

There’s a lot of other large donations from corporate entities that I’ve left off. That said, Mr. Thomas certainly does have some support among teachers, administrators, and retired educators. The list of those contributors is too long to post here.

Because he is the only Republican in the race, and there are three Democrats, Thomas is going to have a natural money advantage over the Democrats. We’ll see how their financials look as they come in.

Links
Thomas’ complete F1 report
All financial reporting

F1 reports for Escambia County candidates are not due until tomorrow, but a few are already starting to roll in.  F1 is the designation used for the reporting period covering April 1, 2008 through July 18, 2008.  This reporting period only applies to County candidates;  City candidates are on a different reporting schedule.

This article is part of a series on the candidates for Escambia County Sheriff.

Larry Scapecchi
Democrat
Qualified by petition
Campaign Finance Reports
Campaign Website

The Candidate

Scapecchi, 45, is a retired ECSO officer and is a new entrant to politics. Not satisfied to stay in retirement, Scapecchi jumped into the race with the following explanation:

“After 25 years of service on the streets, I am disappointed in the direction that Sheriff McNesby has taken the agency and I can no longer stay in retirement without standing up for what I believe is right.”

While I was initially skeptical of his ties to the current ECSO administration, numerous conversations have convinced me that he’s genuine, honest, and well-intentioned. Scapecchi has run an excellent campaign: he is a good and concise speaker; his campaign materials and website are attractive and concise; his fundraising is competitive and his ground game is solid.

Education and Experience: Scapecchi is a graduate of Escambia High School and Pensacola Junior College. At PJC he obtained his Criminal Justice Standards for both Corrections and Law Enforcement, both with Honors. Scapecchi worked for the ECSO for 25 years before retiring in 2007 as a Lieutenant. During his career, Scapecchi garnered experience working in a variety of departments, including narcotics, corrections, and investigations.

Personal: Scapecchi is active in the Myrtle Grove community, serving in the volunteer fire department and as President of the Myrtle Grove Youth Association Foundation. He, his wife Sarita, and their family attend Myrtle Grove Baptist Church.

Electoral History

None

The Bottom Line

One of the things I appreciate most about Scapecchi is that he is concise. This is a great attribute in running for public office. For example, his website lays out his priorities in one page, without the use of lengthy arguments, subpages, etc.

Like the other challengers to the incumbent, Ron McNesby, Scapecchi has made budget issues a focus of his campaign, citing the increase in the overall budget, and more specifically the dramatic (310%) increase in the administrative budget. Scapecchi is also pushing a strong commitment to integrity on all fronts, from the administration, including the Sheriff, down to deputies and corrections officers: “I believe that the Sheriff of Escambia County should be above reproach and should be responsible for the ethical behavior and attitude of his deputies. It is clear that attitude reflects leadership. The Sheriff MUST lead by example.”

Scapecchi has a lot of support. I run into a lot of people, both online and off, who are enthusiastic about him. He’s come out on top in a lot of informal polls I’ve seen, such as the one conducted by the Police Benevolent Association. They later declined to endorse him, saying that the 34% response rate by their members was too low. Either way, I think that’s telling.

The Pensacola City Council has a bad case of over-reliance on City staff. They constantly rubber-stamp the things that staff comes up with no input from Council, and when Council doesn’t know what to do with something, they just push it into staff’s lap and say “take some of that taxpayer money and pay someone to study the issue for a while.”

This morning in the PNJ, Councilman Jack Nobles is quoted regarding his confusion over how deliveries will work on a bidirectional South Palafox Street:

They are going to do a study on it (from Government to Garden), and maybe that will help define these issues.

A $10,000 study, I might add, to have someone guess how the traffic lights at Palafox and Garden Streets should be timed after the bidirectional conversion. That sounds like a good use of taxpayer dollars.

We don’t need study after study. We need leadership on Council. We need people who can make decisions.

The deadline to register to vote, in order to be eligible to vote in the August 26 primary elections, is Monday, July 28.

Keep in mind that in order to vote in Republican or Democratic primaries, you must register as a member of that party. Independents, those with no party affiliation (NPA), and members of third parties will only be able to vote in nonpartisan races in primary elections.

Register to vote:
Escambia County residents
Santa Rosa County residents

This article is part of a series on the candidates for Escambia County Sheriff.

Sam Lucas
Democrat
Qualified by petition
Campaign Finance Reports
Campaign Website

The Candidate

Sam Lucas, 61, is a private investigator and retired Coast Guard officer and a new entrant to politics. He is focusing his campaign, like incumbent Ron McNesby’s other challengers, on budget and administration issues. Lucas is pledging to move the ECSO to a “zero-base budget”, funding only the bare necessities by default and requiring all discretionary spending to go through him as Sheriff.

Education and Experience: After graduating from high school, Lucas joined the Coast Guard, and over his career rose through the ranks, retiring as Officer in Charge of Coast Guard Station Pensacola in 1986. According to Lucas, the last fifteen years of his Coast Guard service focused on “law enforcement and personnel supervision and training.” Since retiring from the Coast Guard, Lucas has served in management positions with marinas and more recently operates a private investigation agency.

Personal: Lucas and his wife of 42 years, Kat, have three children, and are active members of Myrtle Grove Baptist Church.

Electoral History

None

The Bottom Line

While Lucas’ formal law enforcement experience was in a different scene and more than twenty years ago, he is very “in touch” with the ECSO and law enforcement in Escambia County. In the course of his work as a private investigator, he visits the Jail regularly and deals with the ECSO on various levels. He’s very smart on the important issues and has detailed, impressive plans for reform. Personally, I consider Lucas’ outsider status a strength.

Lucas has had some fundraising issues and lacks the network enjoyed by Larry Scapecchi, his Democratic primary opponent. I can’t help but feel that Lucas would have more support if he had more resources, which is a shame.

You can learn more about Lucas and his experience and priorities at his website.

This article is part of a series on the candidates for Escambia County Sheriff.

David Morgan
Republican
Qualified by petition
Campaign Finance Reports
Campaign Website

The Candidate

In his second run for the office, Morgan has centered his campaign on pledges to reform the ECSO budget process, rein in costs, and restructure ECSO operations to place more emphasis on patrol and detention deputy functions.

Education and Experience: Morgan holds an M.A. degree in Business Administration and Management from Webster University and a B.S. degree in Criminal Justice from Southeast Missouri State University. He served in the United States Air Force for more than 20 years, the bulk of which he spent as an Air Force Police Officer. He has completed a number of advanced law enforcement training programs, detailed at his site. Since 1994, Morgan has operated a private investigation agency.

Personal: Morgan and his wife Susan have four children and four grandchildren.

Endorsements: Escambia County Professional Firefighters Local 4131, Dothan Chief of Police John Powell (2004 Democratic candidate for Escambia County Sheriff)

Electoral History

Escambia County Sheriff, 2004: Morgan challenged incumbent Ron McNesby in the Republican primary, but lost by ~11K votes (34 percentage points)

The Bottom Line

I think David Morgan is an educated, capable guy with both the LEO and management cred and experience necessary to run an office like the ECSO. While I disagree with him on some fundamental positions, I think he’d probably make a decent Sheriff. My only concern would be that Morgan to me seems somewhat over-emotional and over-theatrical, but one could make the argument that such is the byproduct of a heated campaign. I think even McNesby’s supporters will concede that Morgan will do significantly better than he did in 2004.

Morgan is focusing, as are McNesby’s other challengers, on administration and budget issues. According to a “Frequently Asked Questions” pdf on Morgan’s website, the ECSO’s biggest current problem is the “culture within the Administration from which all the other problems can be traced back to. It is a culture of entitlement, spitefulness, and deceit. Not only within the department, but with their attitudes with the public they are sworn to serve.” Morgan’s website, and his almost daily television programs on BLAB, are informative but showcase his flair for the theatrical.

Put blunty: David Morgan is a better man for the job than Ron McNesby, but he is not the best man for the job.

Megan Benson Pratt is running for Pensacola City Council, District 9 (At-Large). She is the daughter of ECUA board member Lois Benson and the sister of Holly Benson, Secretary of Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration.

Pratt brought in $15,575 (the most of any City candidate) in the second quarter. Who wants her on Council?

• $3,000 between Mrs. Pratt and members of the Benson family
• $500 from former Pensacola mayor Jerry Maygarden
• $200 from Dick Baker, developer, owner of Heron’s Forest Development Company
• $300 from Tim Wright and $350 from Ken Ford, of IHMC
• $500 from Moulton Properties
• $300 from Mark Proctor of Levin Papantonio
• $500 from Brian Spencer of Spencer Maxwell Bullock Architects
• $250 from Bullock Tice Associates
• $100 from Clay Roesch of Grover Robinson & Associates
• $500 from Dr. Sunil Gupta
• $100 from DeeDee Ritchie, former State Rep. for District 3
• $500 from Jules Kariher, healthcare lobbyist
• $500 from Clay Ford, current State Rep. for District 3
• $1,000 from Ray Russenberger and associated corporations

Links
Pratt’s full Q2 report
Financial reports for all candidates

Wendell Rich is running for Pensacola City Council, District 9 (At-Large).

Rich brought in $2,600 in the second quarter. Who wants him on Council?

• $750 from various attorneys with Fred Levin’s law firm, including $100 from Levin himself
• $500 from the Green & Bradford law firm

Links
Rich’s full Q2 report
Financial reports for all candidates

As Rick Outzen is reporting, Todd Fisher, candidate for Pensacola City Council District 3, has withdrawn his candidacy after confusion arose concerning the date on which he established residency.

I believe that in the current circumstances, Fisher was the best candidate in that race.  That said, I respect his decision and wish him well.

This leaves the PCC-3 race with Mike DeSorbo, the incumbent, and Maren DeWeese.